


Stages Of Therapy

by HelplessLemon



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy, Ever After High, Monster High
Genre: Alternate Universe, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Gen, I live for reviews, Multi-Crossover, Only One Original Character, Pre-Reboot Monster High, Review the Story, Ships Will Come Later, Therapy, Weird, Why Did I Write This?, headcanons, slightly dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 00:43:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13283313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelplessLemon/pseuds/HelplessLemon
Summary: Three groups, one with monsters, one with Legends, and one of humans are looking for help. These groups will meet, conflict, and eventually come together to make not only themselves better, but the world around them as well. You know, if they can get past first impressions. EEnE, (Old)Monster High, and Ever After High crossover.





	1. Concerned Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story I've written in a while, so I can't guarantee it's that good. Or close to good. I encourage you all to give me reviews on this so I can improve my writing on it.

Eddy swore that he would get Double D back for this if it was the last thing he’d do.

 

“Seriously, why are you bringing me here Sockhead?!” shouted Eddy, arms raised and shaking above him in rage. “This is a waste of time, I could be doing lots of other things cool things right now. Like watching some movies, playing video games, scamming some saps. Hell, I could be doing my homework- “

 

“Eddy, the day I find you doing your homework voluntarily is the day the world ends.” Answered Double D, who was keeping his eyes on the road, his hands gripped tight at the steering wheel. He checked the lane beside them three times before moving in, using his turn signal properly.

 

“That’s beside the point, what I’m saying is that this isn’t worth my time.” Eddy crossed his arms, scowling as he looked out the window toward the slowly dimming sky. Tapping his fingers on his arm, he wondered what got Sockheads panties in a twist now that pushed him to doing this. “I mean, I know you got problems loosening up Mr. Clean, but why do me and Ed have to go?”

 

At the mention of his name, the red headed boy in the back of the van sat up, putting his newest comic book down. “Oh, come on Eddy, I thought you like parties! With all the balloons, the cake, pin the tail on the donkey…” Ed said, trailing off at the end. “Ed, I already explained this. This is not a party where we socialize among our peers, this is a meeting place for troubled youths to meet up and converse about past traumas and other experiences.” Edd explained, sighing while adjusting the beanie on his head.

 

“English Double D.” Eddy rolled his eyes as he said this, wondering why the Brainiac always had to make a simple point said long. Edd rolled his eyes right back. “It’s group therapy. And it will be good for us. I shouldn’t be the one to say that our behavior has gone from harmless fun to destructive these past few months.”

 

“All I did was take that Zamboni out for a joyride! I was gonna return it after I got a few people to pay to ride it.” Eddy was back to waving his arms over his head again, exasperated that no one would let that go. He had no idea that the Kankers would come along and somehow crash it into that abandoned Blockbuster. Couldn’t everyone be happy that it didn’t hit something bigger or more important?

 

That reminded him, they should go to the candy store after this, it was selling jawbreakers late tonight. Seemed like it was just yesterday when they were kids and could never get enough cash to even get them for twenty-five cents. But back to what he was complaining about.

 

“Besides, none of us have any problems. Sure, I’m loud, you’re a clean freak, and Ed is just… Ed. But that doesn’t mean we have to hang out with a bunch of sad, stupid strangers.” Eddy clasped his hands together, having a mock expression of helplessness as he spoke. “ _Oh, look at me, I have all these problems and have no way to put them on someone else. I should go complain to a bunch of other people, so I can get the amount of handed out pity I need._ ” He rolled his eyes and looked out the window again when he was done.

 

Edd sighed once more, shaking his head, exasperated by his friend’s close mindedness. “Eddy, you honestly can’t say we don’t have things we need to work through. I figured that since you can’t open up to the people closest to you, you would be able to talk to others that can’t really judge you.” He straightened up a bit before continuing to talk. “Also, we still haven’t talked about what happened during that particular escapade a couple years back.”

 

That seemed to quiet down any conversation in the van, a tense silence overcoming the trio. Eddy had his hands tightened into fists, digging his fingers into his flesh. Ed, who had only been half listening, was pretending to read his comic book, even though he had already finished reading it about ten minutes ago.

 

They never brought up the “Big Picture Show” incident much (as named by Ed for reasons nobody fully understood). Everyone learned things that nobody expected to learn on that trip. The cul-de-sac kids forgave them for the scam that started it all, even though that had to be the worst scam they ever pulled, even more than that time they flooded the cul-de-sac or the Kankers went on that rampage over a wrecked ship in a bottle. It was awkward for a while, but eventually everyone stopped talking about it. Things did calm down and the Eds continued with their scams, but they did things a lot more carefully.

 

Though things were slowly getting worse these past few months after they started high school.

 

Eddy’s scams became more dangerous with every passing week, each more extreme than the last. He kept on coming up with more ideas on how to get money or how to make themselves popular at school. Ed had started acting more random and unpredictable after his parents started staying home more, doing more questionable things than he would normally. Even Edd had to admit to himself that his OCD had started to reach concerning heights. He kept on checking and rechecking things almost five times before he could move on to something else, which ate up his time. He figured that maybe this would be good for them.

 

“We were getting a lot better with our scams before Eddy. None of them required anything too dangerous, we kept any mechanical parts simple, and we even did some legitimate work for some of them. What changed?” Double D asked after a few minutes, breaking the tension over them. He looked at his lifelong friend, concerned and probing for an answer.

 

Eddy just responded with silence.

 

Edd sighed once more, looking back at the road, keeping his eyes peeled. “I’m about to pull up to the building. Whether or not you want to participate in today’s activities, you should be ready.”

 

Double D parked the car near the community center that belonged to the next town over. They got out of the car, some more reluctant than others. Eddy kicked the gravel covered ground moodily, dusting off his yellow jacket and blue jeans. Ed was bouncing on the balls of his feet, either from nervousness or excitement. Edd just stood and stared at the building. He took a deep breath, before looking at his friends. They all looked at each other for several minutes, before Eddy spoke up with an impatient tone.

 

“Let’s just get this over with.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Cleo, you better be taking us to the right place,” threatened a suspicious werewolf, who bared her fangs at her old friend in the limo. “We are taking you there, even if it means hijacking this thing.”

 

A group of three girls were sitting in a particularly _ghoulish_ looking limousine, waiting to arrive at their destination. One a werewolf, one a zombie, and the other an Egyptian mummy. The zombie, Ghoulia Yelps, was reading the latest comic of _Deadfast_ while her friends, Clawdeen Wolf and Cleo De Nile, were bickering.

 

“I swear, Clawdeen. You don’t have to bite my head off. I’m not welching on our deal. I’m just taking us to a meeting place _outside_ of New Salem. Can’t have the tabloids hear that I’m going to therapy.” Answered Cleo in a deadpan manner. She started rubbing her temples, annoyed that she had to go through with this. She’s the leader of the fearleading squad and a member of the illustrious De Nile family, why does she have to lower herself to going to therapy?

 

_“You should have thought of that before deciding to take up that bet with Clawdeen, Cleo.”_ Grunted out Ghoulia, who was reading her comic book intently. She slowly read each page, making sure to drink up all the details of every panel. “ _Et tu,_ Ghoulia? I still don’t know I lost that, I was in tip top form. My fearleading moves were a lot better than yours.” Cleo said pointedly.

 

“Our friends certainly didn’t think so.” Clawdeen said smugly, before getting serious again. “I seriously don’t know why you don’t ask for help more. This’ll be good for you, you gotta at least try it once.” “I ask for help only when I _need_ it, my dear. I wasn’t asking for help, ergo, I don’t need any help,” the Egyptian mummy fired back at her werewolf companion. She was sitting up proudly, nose turned up in a huff. “I also have a reputation to uphold. If I go to a therapist or something like that, the press would have a field day and I don’t want to get on Daddy’s bad side more than I am already.”

 

Clawdeen raised an eyebrow, looking at the zombie between them before replying again. “You got into a cat fight with Toralei _and_ your sister last week. If that isn’t a cry for help, then I’m obviously losing it.”

 

“ _In Cleo’s defense, they put grease at the bottom of her shoes right before a casketball game.”_ Ghoulia stated, putting down her comic book. De Nile gave a smug smile and was about to retort, but was interrupted when the zombie added to her previous statement. _“However, using a cursed artifact to give Toralei fleas and Nefera temporary rigor mortis is a bit on the extreme side.”_ Cleo started pouting again, giving a huff at her friend’s betrayal.

 

Clawdeen rolled her eyes at Cleo’s haughty behavior, leaning forward, and grabbing her hand. She nudged Cleo, looking into her eyes before she began again. “Come on, this has been a long time coming. I know you’ve been getting better over the year and all, especially after the “arranged marriage” thing a month ago, but even Deuce thinks this’ll be good for you. You’ve been getting a little _scary_ lately. And not in the good way.”

 

_“She has a point. I’ve known you since you got out of your tomb three years ago and you’ve been getting a little out of hand lately.”_ Ghoulia shifted a little under her best friend’s angry gaze, though she didn’t falter in the slightest. _“You’ve been retaliating at any perceived sign of aggression or anyone that seems to get in your way. It’s gone from you being queen bee to becoming a tyrant. We should at least try this once.”_

 

Cleo was still not convinced. She’ll admit to having slight megalomania, some anger issues, and just being _slightly_ possessive, but she was perfect otherwise. And how dare Deuce take their side! Seriously, after all she did for him…

 

Then again, she also knew when to admit defeat. She was already headed to this “group therapy” event and it didn’t sound like her friends were going to let this be. Clawdeen was stubborn by nature and Ghoulia rarely ever stood her ground like this. If she attended just once, maybe they would drop it. It wasn’t like she needed to participate anyway.

 

“Fine. I’ll go through with this without a fight. Though I just want to say I won’t enjoy it.” Cleo finally agreed, even if it didn’t sound that convincing. It seemed to finally get her friends to relax a little, a sigh from the other two girls indicating their relief.

 

Clawdeen then perked up a little, looking like she just remembered something. “Oh yeah, I probably should have mentioned this before. The whole thing is being done in a place called _Croisement_.”

 

This was met with by an incredulous Ghoulia. _“Isn’t that the city that used to be a French colony in the 1800’s? Where that portal to that weird ‘fairy tale’ world was discovered between us and that other small town?”_ Clawdeen nodded. “Yeah, so don’t be too surprised to see plenty of Normies and Legends there.”

 

Cleo would have been lying if she said that didn’t peak her interest.

 

Many years ago, a couple of years before the teens were born, the town of Croisement was just a regular small town, with its own culture and its own small-town values. The businesses were small and run by families that had lived there for over two centuries. The homes were old but sturdy, still standing since they were initially built. It even had a lake with some awe-inspiring views. Virtually nothing weird about it what so ever.

 

It didn’t last, however. No one knew exactly why it happened or who was responsible, but a portal just appeared in the middle of main street one day, about one story tall and a mile wide. Its sudden appearance had caused plenty of car crashes and other unfortunate incidents, but the real chaos came from the press. It was the only thing people talked about or reported upon for months, prompting intense research to be made by government scientists. All sorts of tests were made to make sure it wasn’t radioactive, reality altering, or anything else that would make it dangerous. It got even worse after someone fell _out_ of the portal.

 

After interrogating the poor man (later revealed to be royalty of the land beyond the portal) for several weeks, the world finally got answers. To nearly everyone’s disbelief, it turned out the world beyond was a literal fairy tale land, with dragons, magic, and other creatures unlike the ones in their world. The man, who had remained unnamed for private reasons, called it ‘Ever After.’

 

After being sent back, the accidental traveler brought the leaders of that world into this one, where they made sure to negotiate and work out how travel between the two worlds would go. It didn’t help that the people of Ever After feared the monster population, along with the technology that this world had that trumped theirs. However, things have worked out so far. Relations are still tense, but free travel between both worlds is not only permitted, but encouraged as long as each person had legal documentation.

 

“I suppose if we’re going there, we should also make some time to see if we can explore this ‘Ever After’ place. If we have the time.” Cleo said, feeling a bit better about where they were going. She didn’t exactly relish the idea of being around an abundance of Normies and Legends though. She wasn’t entirely over how Jackson and Holt were almost _beheaded_ over a childish prank war during Halloween. But as long as she got to see the sights and eventually go through that “Gate” to see the other world, she could deal with this. The places she could see if she had the chance…

 

The limo came to a sudden stop, startling the three girls in it. Before getting out of the car, they three girls looked at each other and nodded solemnly. Each one got out slowly, stretching as they had been in the car for a little while. Before they went inside the community center though, Cleo had to make one more comment.

 

“That has to be the _ugliest_ van I have ever seen in my unlife.”

 

* * *

 

 

The Gate was crackling with a dark, mystical energy, the magical aura coming from it making the hair on her arms stand on end. Each step taken towards it increased the feelings of dread, making her stomach churn with anticipation. The Gate seemed to tower over anything that got near it, a great expanse of red and purple waves flowing within it. A set of guards surrounded it, carrying the most high-tech weaponry Ever After could produce to make sure nothing got in or out without their permission.

 

Apple White would have been lying if she said that she wasn’t afraid. Her mother told her many stories about The Gate and what was on the other side, telling her many things that resided there. Advanced machinery that, while like their own, had many disturbing differences. Buildings taller than any castle and filled to the brim with people. Deadly creatures, some big and frightening, others tiny and deadly. She even heard about monsters living on the other side, some that were once living breathing people, now either walking corpses or haunting spirits.

 

She kind of regretted talking Raven and Maddie into this, but it was too late now.

 

“Finally, we made it! It took forever to get these passports, but it was worth it!” cheered Raven Queen, Apple’s best friend. She was the one that wanted to go on this trip the most, excited over the prospect of seeing a barely explored world.

 

While technically they should be enemies because of their respective bloodlines, Raven refused to play her role as Evil Queen to Apple’s Snow White. The story of Snow White didn’t have villain now because of it. Apple has tried to accept this as best as she could, even though it has caused her great distress. No villain or obstacle to conquer means a Happy Ending may not come true.

 

Which led to the second reason for the trip.

 

“You sure you want to do this, Apple? I mean, I appreciate that you helped give us the chance to go, but why go to this?” Raven asked, turning towards her friend while holding a flyer. It was advertising about a therapy group for people of both worlds to join. Raven gave Apple a speculative look, trying to be as supportive as she possibly could.

 

Apple seemed to jolt out of her reverie, looking away from the Gate for the first time since they got there. She had been the one to suggest doing this trip, despite her misgivings about the world on the other side. “I just thought maybe we could go there to connect to the citizens. As future queen, I should get acquainted with the other world first before taking power, since I will be working with them in the future.” She explained in what she hoped was a calm tone. She was wringing her hands a little, twiddling her thumbs as they talked.

 

“Ok, I get that. But why a therapy group? I mean, I understand getting out there and meeting new kinds of people is good for us, but wouldn’t a party or a sports game be better?” Raven asked, still a bit perplexed by Apples reasoning. Whenever she thought she had good idea on what Apple is thinking, her friend always finds another way to confuse her

 

The blonde seemed to deflate a little bit at her friend’s questions. “Why not? There will be plenty of people there and getting to know their world sounds wonderlandiful. If I didn’t, it would be a massive mistake on my part. This is a rare opportunity.” She plastered a wide smile on her face, hoping she sounded sincere.

 

Judging from Ravens raised eyebrow, it wasn’t. “Speak _honestly_ Apple. Why do you want to go?”

 

Apple had to sigh a bit at her perceptive friend, looking down at her shoes. She didn’t really want to bring this up right now, but it was probably better to be honest.

 

“I… I’ve got some things I think I need to work through Raven.” Apple said, voice a little shaky. “I know I’ve said that I’m over the whole ‘follow your destiny at all costs’ phase but I’m still very… terrified.” She seemed to slouch a bit. “And the Book of Legends may be gone now, but I did sign it. I promised that I’d play my role, through hell or high water. I know you don’t want to play your role, I accepted that, but I still don’t know what to do now. Will I get my destiny or am I going to just fade away? I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t know how I’m feeling, I just don’t kno-…”

 

Apple stopped when she felt Raven hug her closely, hesitating a bit before she could hug back. She held on tightly for second, eyes closed and shaking a little. Raven hummed a bit, giving her friend a squeeze before they let go. The blonde wiped her eyes, making sure she wiped away her tears. She didn’t want to mess up her makeup. _“A princess must look her best at all times!”_ she thought to herself, repeating several times in her head.

 

“I just… I just think this will help. I didn’t want to go through with it in such an alien place alone. So, I figured that I could bring you and Maddie with me since you two wanted to go. I would have brought Briar too if she wasn’t with her mother right now. She would have loved to come.” Briars mom was trying to teach her daughter the ropes about ruling her own kingdom someday, so Apple had to regrettably leave her behind on this trip. “That and I don’t feel comfortable asking my own mother for a therapist. I honestly think she’d go overboard with it. I’d rather talk about it with friends by my side rather than talk to an army of therapists.”

 

Raven smiled a bit before she spoke again. “I’m glad that you trust us to help you. We’ll be there with you every step of the way.” Raven reached out and patted Apples shoulder, before a look a look of confusion got on to her face. “Speaking of ‘we,’ where’s Maddie?”

 

The answer to that question came with a resounding bang coming from their left. They jumped and looked over at their Wonderlandian friend.

 

They could only be confused by the sight of several of the intimidating guards drinking tea at a table, watching in awe as Maddie was holding a bunch of trays of treats and tea kettles, stacks in each hand and one on top of her head. Shattered tea cups lay at her feet. Maddie was slowly walking towards the table, looking like she was having a hard time doing it.

 

Raven brought up a hand, enveloped in purple magical aura. The same aura spread over the items the mad hatter was carrying, before they floated out of her hands and were put on the table, spread out evenly and perfectly. Maddie seemed to be relieved by this.

 

Raven seemed proud of how easily she used her powers before she saw how the guards near them seemed to be sitting a little straighter than they were a couple of minutes ago, visibly frightened. She lost her smile for a second, but put up a fake one quickly.

 

Apple had to push down a scowl when she saw the guard’s reactions. She didn’t want to have to explain to her mother why she went off on several guards at the Gate.

 

“Thanks for the help Raven. I’m just a tad bit more off kilter than usual today.” Said Maddie, who seemed a little tired. “Did you get enough sleep last night Maddie? I know I was excited for it, I can only imagine how much you were when we got our passports a couple of days ago.” Raven joked to her oldest friend.

 

Maddie beamed at that. “Certainly! I barely got any sleep last night, it was almost like I was going to Ever After from Wonderland again. Except, you know, this time I wasn’t running away from a storm that closed up the way back.” The hatter rambled while serving out tea to the guards, who seemed to have relaxed from earlier. “Kitty didn’t seem to like it when I was bouncing off the walls. Neither did Headmaster Grimm when he got complaints from my neighbors. I hope those construction workers can work out those dents in the walls…” Maddie rambled on, sipping her own cup of tea before giving her pet mouse, Earl Grey, a taste.

 

“And the tea set?” Apple asked. She always felt a little tired talking to Maddie Hatter when she was overly excited about something. She loved her company, but Wonderlandians were always a bit exhausting to deal with.

 

“Why not? It seemed like some of the guards here need a break. And who doesn’t like tea?” Maddie took another sip before continuing. “That and I want to see if I can open up another tea shop in that world. Dear old Dad wants to expand a bit and the other world seems promising.”

 

The other two ladies looked at each other quickly, shrugging and accepting the answer. It made plenty of sense, compared to anything else Maddie could possible say. “Well, we’re going to be leaving soon. We should probably hurry.” Raven said before turning to the Gate and walking towards it. Maddie nodded, turning and saying her goodbyes to the guards she gave the tea to, who were grateful for the company.

 

With passports in hand, they reached the border and had the guards check them over, making sure the documents were legitimate. Apples hand shook as she handed them hers. They were ushered along, where they were brought up to the Gate.

 

Maddie was unsurprisingly the first to jump through. She seemed to be unafraid, practically launching herself through with wild abandon. The only evidence she was there a second ago was the scent of her perfume she left behind.

 

Raven was the second, standing in front of it for a second before taking a deep breath. She gave Apple another look and a nod, a serious expression on her face as she walked in, eyes closed.

 

Apple, the last one to step through took one last look around her, the town of Bookend behind her. She knew she was coming back after this and going back and forth each week, but she felt like something strange was about to happen to her. She felt like she was taking a large step forward, the first step to something wonderful. She just wasn’t sure what the destination was.

 

She sighed one final time, closing her eyes tightly for a second before opening them, determination in her eyes.

 

“Here we go.”

 

She stepped through the portal, starting the long journey ahead of her.


	2. First Meetings

The main hall of the community center was packed and noisy, much more than Apple expected. For such a small looking building, it was much more spacious on the inside. The floors and walls were a bright white and almost seemed clinically clean. It must have been cleaned recently as she couldn’t help but notice the smell of antiseptic wash over her. She couldn’t help but think of how different this was to home again.

 

“Wow, this place is _huge_. I wonder what else they do around here.” Raven commented, striding forward confidently. Apple had to stifle a spike of envy at how well Raven accepted everything here without question. Raven always seemed to be the braver out of the two no matter the circumstances. Raven turned around and looked at Apple, questioning. “Hey, do you think this place has a music room or has concerts here? I kind of want to see what kind of music this place has to offer.”

 

Maddie almost literally jumped into the conversation. “I actually got to hear some the music our ‘taxi’ driver was listening to! I like how they played the guitar, but the singer was screaming a lot for some reason.” Maddie stopped, a pensive look on her face. “I hope the singers okay, that really can’t be good for his voice.”

 

Apple and Raven couldn’t help but stare at Maddie for a second, but decided to let it go. Raven would probably look it up later on her MirrorPhone, if they could connect to this worlds Wi-Fi. “Anyway,” Apple said, interrupting the conversation before it started going in a different direction, “This world seems interesting so far. When do you think we should explore other parts of the city?”

 

Raven seemed to pause at that. It took her a second to respond. “We should probably wait a few more visits until we get used the community center. Maybe make some friends at therapy that actually know this place better than we do.”

 

Apple nodded at that. Making friends here was one of the main goals, so getting someone that knows the area and to get them acquainted with this alien world was of high priority. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen if they decided to go in completely blind.

 

The journey here was extremely strange, despite how short it was. After they had stepped out of the Gate, they were greeted by weird looking guards who checked their passports again. She wondered why they didn’t wear any armor like the ones at home did. The only reason the girls knew they were guards was because they were all wearing blue uniforms. Apple wondered how they protected themselves with those small guns they had at their sides. They had guns in her world, but they were usually slow and ineffective compared to magic. Everyone focused on magic tools and weapons because of that. Shouldn’t the police at least have spears? She remembered the guards on their side being able to use some electricity for safely taking down a target.

 

There was also the matter of traveling to the community center. It would have taken them to long by foot, so they had to call a ‘taxi.’ She was thankful for the fact she had the idea to convert some Ever After currency to ‘American’ currency before they left, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to get here. She really was weirded out on how these ‘cars’ supposedly ran. Apple remembered her mother talking about them with such a strong amount of curiosity before, wanting get one for herself, but they were stranger than what she imagined.

 

She wondered how a hunk of metal could even move so fast without the use of horses. Though it was somehow much louder than any horse drawn carriage could be. How did this world manage to do that?

 

Despite her amazement, she didn’t like how fast it went. They were moving and turning so fast, Raven and she thought that they were going to fly off the road for sure. The had gripped the armrests so hard that Apple was sure they had left dents on it. Of course, Maddie just laughed the entire time, treating it like it was a roller coaster.

 

“Hey Apple, we’re going to head to the front desk to ask where the group is meeting up. You coming?” Raven asked, snapping Apple out of her train of thought. “Um, sure. I’ll be coming right up.” Apple said, hurrying over to her friends, who had started heading to the desk in the middle of the atrium.

 

As she walked with her friends, she couldn’t help but realize they were receiving a few stares. She brushed it off though, she was used to being stared at.

 

What kind of princess isn’t?

 

* * *

 

 

“Why the heck was that girl wearing a ball gown?”

 

Edd couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Eddy’s question. “Eddy, please stop stalling, we have to get to the room. If we keep on occupying our time with more distractions, we’ll never get there on time.” He was looking at the room number scrawled on the piece of paper the receptionist gave him. “This handwriting is difficult to read, and I need to concentrate.”

 

“I’m not tryin’ to stall Sockhead, I seriously saw someone wearing a ballgown like she was going to some kinda ‘debutantee’ ball.” Eddy said, looking around for the girl in that dress again. He seriously saw someone straight out of a fantasy novel walking around. Was she a part of some weird dance class?

 

“Eddy, even if there was someone dressed like that here, we don’t have the time. We are going to be _late_.” Double D grabbed the hem of Eddy’s jacket, pulling him lightly to the stairs. “From the looks of it, the meeting place is on the second floor. If we hurry, we can make it there about fifteen minutes before the meeting time…”

 

Eddy jerked out of his friend’s grip, dusting himself off. “Alright, alright, you don’t have to drag me. I said I was already coming. Can’t we just slow down a sec? We don’t need to be there that early, we just need to show up.”

 

Edd sighed once more, stopping to turn around to face Eddy. “Well, I like being early. Besides, it will give us the chance to meet the other members, so I want you on your best behavior when we do.” Eddy had to roll his eyes again at that, which had to be the hundredth time today. “You’re starting to sound like my parents again Sockhead. And what do you mean act on my ‘best behavior?’ I’m completely charming.” Eddy struck a pose after saying that, pointing finger guns at a random girl and winking.

 

He didn’t seem to be bothered when the girl scoffed and turned her head up in a huff.

 

“Yeah, I see that.” Double D deadpanned at the display. “That reminds me, we need to set up ground rules when we get there.” Eddy slouched a bit at that. He knew what was coming before Double D opened his mouth.

 

“One; we will not attempt to scam or trick anyone at the session to either give us money or services.” Eddy nodded at that. He might as well try _not_ to burn some bridges while he was there just yet.

 

“Two; we will tell the truth in there at all times. To get help, you must be truthful with everyone there, otherwise it will not work.” Eddy hesitated before nodding again. While he wasn’t planning to participate that much, he still wasn’t that comfortable telling stranger’s things that could be used against him.

 

“Three; we shall treat everyone there with the utmost respect. No insulting anyone because of something you may see as funny or confusing. They’re there to get help, not be attacked.” _“Well duh.”_ Eddy thought to himself. He was a loudmouth, he wasn’t that friggin’ insensitive.

 

“Fourth and final rule; no flirting.” Okay, that couldn’t help but set Eddy off. “Wait, seriously?! Why is that a rule? I mean, I get the other ones, but how is flirting a problem?” Edd stood his ground despite the outpouring of questions. “Eddy, it may sound like a ludicrous stipulation, but there is a reason for it. You have to admit that whenever you try to romance someone it tends to go pretty awry.”

 

“First of all, Double D, no one says ‘awry’ in a real conversation. Have you heard another human being use that word in a real sentence? And second, flirting isn’t one of those ‘problems’ you keep saying I have, so why give it up?” “Well, excuse me for trying to bolster my vocabulary.” Double D muttered to himself, but spoke up to let Eddy hear him. “That may be so, but we can’t distract ourselves and the other people in the group. This is to help us, this isn’t a normal social convention like a school dance.”

 

Eddy grumbled a bit, but decided to agree just to end the argument. “Fine, I get it. This isn’t a fun trip this is all business. Way to be a killjoy…” Eddy said, trailing off at the end. Edd depressed at that last declaration. He walked over to his shorter friend, patting his back. “Eddy, self-improvement is rarely a fun venture. We must take this seriously, otherwise I simply don’t see things getting better. You can’t say that fighting like this is good for us.”

 

Eddy sighed at that. He knew he and Sockhead were fighting a little more lately, the last few weeks especially. It wasn’t like they never fought before, but it was steadily getting worse. Despite how different they both were and how they did things, he didn’t want to lose Double D as a friend. He almost did because of a horrible prank once and that was the scariest moment in his life.

 

“…Okay. I’ll behave as best as I can, but no promises if someone else starts something. If it makes sure the three of us don’t split up, then I’ll deal with it for a while.” Eddy said to Double D finally after a moment of silence. Double D seemed relieved at the agreement, visibly relaxing.

 

Eddy blinked a couple of times, looking like he just remembered something. “Hey, speaking of “the three of us,” have you seen Ed anywhere?” Double D paused at that, before they both started to look around themselves. Both couldn’t help but pale a bit when they noticed that they were missing their third member. “Oh dear.” Double D whispered to himself, eyes wide.

 

“ED?!”

 

* * *

 

  

Clawdeen was happy she had the idea to memorize the room number before they got here so they wouldn’t have to waste time at the front desk. Now, if only the room was easier to find.

 

Seriously, why was this place such a maze?! If the doors weren’t numbered at all, she could of swore that she walked down this hallway before. Monster High was just as big, but it had at least some distinguishing features, like a hallway would have some non-living gargoyles, some decorative cobwebs, or at least some kind of splash of color. She may be more focused on clothing, but some interior design would be good for this place.

 

“Clawdeen, as much as I’d hate to interrupt you while you’re thinking, do you know where we’re going?” Asked a particularly peeved Cleo, who was inspecting her nails with an impatient expression. They’d been walking around for a bit now and so far, they hadn’t made any noticeable progress.

 

_“We’ll find it Cleo. We just need to be patient for a little bit longer.”_ Ghoulia said to Cleo, trying to reassure her friend before she started to really complain. She knew Cleo well enough to see that her patience was beginning to run low. The bland, hospital like surroundings didn’t exactly help things. Cleo had a thing against hospitals, for reasons she never explained.

 

“Don’t worry girls, it’s nearby. Just got to go through some more hallways. Would appreciate a sign or something though…” Clawdeen said to reassuringly, mumbling the last part to herself. “You’d think it’d be easier to find considering how many advertisements were placed, but apparently they want to hide it from us.”

 

“Yes, well, we aren’t getting any younger here.” The werewolf really couldn’t help but be annoyed by this, but bit back a retort. As much as she liked to debate with Cleo, she just wasn’t in the mood for it. She was extremely tired because of having to babysit her siblings over the past week or so. Her mom was still recovering after having the latest addition to the family a couple of days ago and her dad rarely left her side whenever she gave birth. Didn’t help that she had fearleading practice every day this week and had to bail Frankie and the other girls out of whatever misadventure they got themselves into. If Clawdia hadn’t come down to help, she would’ve probably burnt out by now.

 

_“I’m sure we’ll find it soon. We just have to keep moving forward.”_ Ghoulia said, doing her best to keep up the groups morale. It was increasingly hard to do since one of the three didn’t want to be here and the other was getting more frustrated each second. Ghoulia sighed to herself. Being the mediator was a tough, unrewarding job, but at least her friends were happy.

 

The monsters walked for a few minutes more before they seemed to come to an intersection of hallways. The area had chairs for people to sit in, an end table with outdated magazines, and an empty vending machine. There was also, thankfully, a map hanging on the walls.

 

“Finally, we can get some directions through this horrid place! Come on Clawdeen.” Ordered Cleo, walking towards the map hurriedly. Clawdeen rolled her eyes at her friend’s impatience, but went along, also happy to finally find a map of the place. Ghoulia just stood there awkwardly, looking at the magazines on the table to find something to read. It wasn’t looking promising before she noticed another addition to the waiting area.

 

There was an aquarium, not big enough to hold that many fish. However, it still looked very colorful and pretty compared to the rest of the surroundings, so it caught her eyes instantly. She moved towards it, mentally cataloguing the fish she could currently see, before noticing somebody was already standing close to it. It was an extremely tall guy who wore a brown trench coat. He was facing towards the tank, so she couldn’t see his face.

 

Ghoulia decided to keep moving towards the tank, despite the guy being there. She moved a bit slower than she normally did already, but made it to the tank right, standing next to the stranger. There was a lot more fish in the tank than she expected. She couldn’t help but fawn over the varieties of fish she saw in there. She thought about how Lagoona would talk fondly about the creatures of the sea and how she missed her home sometimes. Ghoulia was always fascinated to hear what was in the deepest parts of the ocean and all the creatures that lived there. She looked briefly at her the guy standing next to her, wondering if he was thinking something similar.

 

She could actually see his face now. He was obviously a Normie, albeit a tall and strange looking one, having short orange hair and brown eyes. For such an imposing looking guy, he had a look of childish wonder on his face. He almost had his face against the glass, looking at each fish that crossed his vision very carefully. He had a big, dopey smile on his face while he did it. For some reason, this prompted Ghoulia to speak up.

 

_“Hey, did you know that there are almost 250,000 species of fish in the sea?”_ Ghoulia said, before standing up ramrod straight, realizing what she just did. She looked at the fish tank, thanking the fact that she couldn’t really blush thanks to her undead status. _“Why the heck did I do that?”_ she asked herself, panicking ever so slightly. She didn’t know why she just openly talked to a Normie that probably couldn’t understand a word she just said. She always tended to forget that not everyone understood her since she was a zombie. And who in their right mind started a conversation like that!? She really hoped he wouldn’t-

 

“Really? That’s so cool! How many do you think are in this tank?”

 

-somehow completely understand every word she just said. Ghoulia had to look back at the Normie, who was still looking into the fish tank _. “I think about twenty-four different kinds. Not that I’m… Not to insult you or anything, but did you actually understand what I said?”_ she couldn’t help but say back. _This_ was new. A human that could understand zombie without a translator was a rare thing and she’d personally never met one that put in the effort to understand her.

 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” the guy in the trench coat said, turning to her this time. He didn’t look offended, thankfully, just a bit confused. She noticed his eyes widen a second, before getting an excited look on his face. “Wait, are you a zombie? Awesome, I’ve never met a monster before!” She could have sworn he was bouncing on the balls of his feet before he extended an arm. “Hi, I’m Ed! I’m from Peach Creek, who are you?” Ed said, looking surprisingly happy for a Normie that just met a monster.

 

Ghoulia hesitantly extended hers, head tilted to the side in confusion. That was _not_ the reaction she expected to get, but she guessed it was better to not look a gift nightmare in the mouth. She moved her hand to reach his, saying _“It’s nice to meet you Ed. I’m Ghoulia Yelps from New Salem.”_ She almost regretted it as he apparently liked to shake hands _hard_.

 

“Great to meet you! I actually came here with some friends of mine, but I kinda got lost. I decided to stay over here and read some comic books.” Ed said, waving a comic book, which was called _The Curse of Evil Tim_. She couldn’t help but smile a bit at that, adjusting her glasses after the energetic handshake. She never heard of that one before. _“Me and my friends are in the same boat. Thought I could find something to read here.”_ She showed her _Deadfast_ comic. _“Ever heard of this one? It’s about a zombie that can run at supersonic speeds.”_

 

Ed smile seemed to get even wider, if that was possible. “Never heard of it, but sounds cool. Mines about this one guy that…”

 

Ed and Ghoulia walked to a couple of seats near the aquarium, talking about their comic books in detail. Meanwhile, Cleo and Clawdeen were still trying to figure out where to go next.

 

“Are we even on the right floor? This doesn’t even look remotely like the way we came.” Groaned Clawdeen, exasperated by the “simple” directions. “We should have brought Manny Taur here, he’s always been frightfully good with those maze puzzles.” Cleo said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “How can Normies complain about how monster architecture is complicated when they make every hallway nearly identical in every way.” Cleo complained some more to herself, before turning to her friend once more. “Maybe this is a sign that we shouldn’t have come here. If we can’t even make it there on time, why show up at all?”

 

“Oh no, you are not getting out of this. I’ve come too far to get you here, I’m not giving up now.” Clawdeen said with an authoritative voice. She rubbed her eyes a bit, doing her best to look at the map. Her vision was blurry, she had to squint as she couldn’t see the map all that well. Cleo noticed, a look of concern crossing her face. “Are you sure you’re all right? I know that your mothers been in the hospital with the baby, but are you sure you don’t want to rest?”

 

Clawdeen rolled her eyes again, putting on a tired smile. “I’ll rest when we get this over with, okay? I just need to get this done first.” Cleo didn’t really believe that, but she couldn’t really say anything else. Clawdeen was always the stubborn one in the group. Cleo sighed, deciding to relent. “Alright, we should see how Ghoulia feels then.” She turned around, looking for her fellow undead friend. “Ghoulia, we were about to- wait a minute.”

 

Clawdeen heard the interruption, turning around quickly to make sure some new disaster didn’t happen on her watch. “God knows she wanted something else to happen,” she thought to herself sarcastically.

 

…Wait a minute. Nothing’s happening. Something seems to be going right for once, actually.

 

All she saw was Ghoulia talking to a Normie. She looked like she was enjoying herself too, not just trying to make awkward small talk. She could see them pointing at a comic book, having a good time too. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride for her friend. The shyest person in the group somehow made a friend before the others.

 

Cleo looked back at Clawdeen, apparently extremely bewildered by this. Clawdeen just shrugged, communicating one thing.

 

Don’t ever underestimate Ghoulia.

 

Clawdeen decided to walk over and check on how things were going. As she walked over, she couldn’t help but overhear part of the conversation between the two.

_“So, they just rebooted this series again? That doesn’t sound good. A few of the comics I’ve read have been rebooted three times over the past five years and now nothing looks the same anymore.”_ “Yeah, it came out of nowhere! The sorcerers were about to defeat Evil Tim, but then he did the ‘reboot’ spell and now it’s totally different. The arts cool, but everything else got worse.” _“Yeah, they did something similar with Deadfast. He and some other superheroes just had their comics rebooted and now a lot of important characters are gone. They’ve been trying to get gritty too, but it really isn’t working, it all just sounds whiny.”_

...Yeah, she was going to just assume it was going well. “Hey Ghoulia, me and Cleo are still trying to find out where were going. We’re out of ideas. Wanted to ask who your new friend was.”

 

Ghoulia jumped a bit at Clawdeens sudden appearance. She hadn’t noticed her walk over since she was talking to Ed. She smiled, embarrassed, but spoke up. _“Oh, uh, hey. I was just talking about comics with Ed here.”_ Ed looked up and smiled largely at Clawdeen, who waved at her excitedly. “Hi! It’s nice to meet you.” He grabbed Clawdeens hand and gave her a handshake, which almost launched her off her feet at how strong it was. He kept on shaking her hand while he talked. “Are you a werewolf? Didn’t think I’d get to meet two monsters in one night. What’s it like in New Salem? I heard there was a school full of monsters. What’s it like going to a school full of monsters?” “Ni-nice to m-meet you t-two big guy.” Clawdeen struggled to saw, who was struggling with dealing with Ed’s strength. She was starting to wish her arm would come off like Frankie’s does, it would be useful right about now.

 

Ed thankfully stopped, leaving Clawdeen disheveled afterword. After taking a minute to catch her breath, she quickly straightened out her look. She quickly decided to get control of the conversation before he started again. “So, uh, it’s nice to meet you Ed! Glad to see you’ve made friends with Ghoulia.” She said quickly, making sure to stem the flow of question that seemed to pour out of the guys mouth. “Yeah, she’s really cool! Not a lot of people want to talk about my comic books.” He said honestly, still having a dopey look on his face.

 

Clawdeen nodded a bit, happy to hear that. Surprisingly nice to hear a Normie talk to monsters like it wasn’t that big of a deal. “Yeah, really sorry to interrupt you two on that, but we have this thing we’re going to be late for. Is it all right we get her back for a little bit, so we can find out where to go?” She asked nicely. Ed nodded, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Sure. Uh, I’m actually just as lost as you are. I was going to some group thing with a couple of friends of mine, but I kinda lost them and don’t know the room number. Maybe I could help?” he asked, ironically giving the werewolf puppy dog eyes as he asked.

 

Clawdeen just chuckled a bit. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to have some help, even if this guy seemed to be a bit absentminded. He reminded her of her little brothers in a weird way too. “Why not? We’re making no progress right now. You know where room B413 is? We haven’t found zilch.”

 

“Oh yeah, I walked past it over there.” He said, pointing down a hallway that they hadn’t traveled down yet. “Had to take a left somewhere. Would it be all right if I helped you there?” Clawdeen was beyond relieved to hear that, relaxing a bit. “We’d appreciate it. You have no idea how happy you just made me.”

 

 “Glad to help!” Ed said, beginning to practically skip down the hallway. The werewolf decided to move into third gear, but not before turning to Cleo smirking. “How’s that for a sign?” She caught up to Ed, grabbing Ghoulia with her and continuing to talk with Ed. “Before I forget, I’m Clawdeen. The mummy gaping like a fish is Cleo.”

 

Cleo just stood there, still a bit surprised and honestly a bit peeved. She stared in the direction her friends had gone before finally speaking up since she saw the human talking to her best ghoulfriend.

 

“Is no one questioning how a Normie can speak zombie except me?”

 

* * *

 

 

Double D shivered a bit, but didn’t understand why. All he knew that somehow, somewhere, Ed just did something that couldn’t be explained.

 

“Ed, where are you?! Seriously man this ain’t funny! If you don’t show I’m hiding all your comic books again like Double D did during our midterms. Don’t think I won’t do it Lumpy!” Eddy shouted, looking every which way for his giant of a friend. Double D and Eddy had been looking for him for about ten minutes now and frankly, Double D was at his wits end. How could someone Eds size somehow just disappear?

 

“Ed, please come on, please show up! We need to get going! Curses, if only we could afford cell phones.” Double D said, saying the last part under his breath. “Why does he always run off like this like he’s in his own little world. Eddy, do you have any idea where he could have gone?” “If I had any idea, do you think we would be standing here right about now?” Eddy snapped at him. This annoyed him just as much, he just wanted to get this over with. Ed running was really slowing them down. Eddy looked around him some more, sighing in irritation. “Look, maybe we should split up, we’ll cover more ground. We’ll meet here in five minutes if we can’t find him.”

 

Double D wasn’t so sure about that. “Splitting up is not the best option here Eddy. If we both get lost, then we’ll all miss the group function. This would be a total loss.” “Not a loss to me.” Eddy whispered under his breath. “What was that Eddy?” Double D asked, putting his hands on his hips. “Nothing.” Defensively said the shortest Ed, looking like a child who talked back to their parents. “I’m just saying that standing here and shouting for Ed isn’t going to help anything. We should go out and look for him and hope we get to him faster.” Double D sighed, crossing his arms. He still didn’t like it, but Eddy made a logical point, which was rare within itself. “Alright, but you better appear here in five minutes.” “I swear on my honor as an Urban Ranger.” Eddy said, giving the L-shaped salute. “Eddy, you never were an Urban Ranger, remember.” Double D said, exasperated. “Hey, we would have made it in if Rolf wasn’t such a spoilsport.” Double D raised an eyebrow at his friend. “Alright, I promise. I said I’d give this a shot already, so I wouldn’t just leave. Jeez.” Eddy said, throwing up his arms and turning around so he could go find Ed.

 

The smartest Ed boy sighed again, but decided to take that as confirmation. It seemed only nagging Eddy half to death was the only way to strongarm Eddy to do something willingly. He turned around as well to head in the opposite direction, looking at his watch. He might as well count how long it would take for things to get even worse.

 

Three seconds later, he heard a thump, Eddy’s loud yelp, and shout of surprise from a girl. That had to world record if he had to say. Double D turned around almost lightning fast, already preparing apologies and excuses to make for Eddy, and hoping against hope that he wouldn’t have to do extensive damage control.

 

Thankfully, it didn’t look like a huge problem. Eddy just ran into a blonde girl (looks like he wasn’t stalling earlier about the ballgown girl) and both were sitting on the floor, rubbing their heads. He already knew the pattern and what was going to happen next, he’d seen it a million times before. Eddy will run into someone, that person is dazed from the impact. They’ll both get up slightly dazed, Eddy stumbling around. He would stand up, shake his head back and forth. He’d get that angry look on his face, scrunched up and with a deadly glare. He opens his mouth, saying “Hey, would ya watch where your goi-.”

 

“Eddy, remember your temper.” Double D said, coming in when he knew he was needed. He knew Eddy like book and it made it easier to avoid unneeded conflict. Eddy jumped a bit at the sudden intrusion, but got quiet when he noticed when it was Edd. He could already feel the lecture coming on.

 

“We don’t need to make anymore enemies here. Apologize now.” Ordered Edd, leaving little room for argument. Eddy wasn’t good at noticing hints like that, however. “Why should I apologize?! I didn’t do anything.” “I’m not saying you did anything wrong, all I’m saying that apologizing is more polite than creating confrontation where there is none.” Sternly replied Eddward. Eddy growled at him, but decided not to argue. He was tired of arguing today and they had places to be.

 

“Fine, fine.” Eddy relented, deciding to drop it. He turned back to the girl he had run into, giving her a once over before putting out his hand. She seemed okay so this probably wouldn’t take long. “Sorry, or whatever, for funning into ya. Was kinda in a hurry. You okay?” Eddy said, trying to be brief about this. She seemed dazed, but she responded quickly. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She took his hand daintily, surprisingly polite for someone who had the wind knocked out of her. Eddy pulled her up quickly, causing her to yelp at the sudden roughness. When she was on her feet, Eddy took his hand back from her, trying to end this as soon as possible. “Good, now if you’ll excuse us-“

 

“Hey Apple, are you okay?” A raven-haired girl inquired, rushing bit to blonde with a _pink_ haired girl (he couldn’t make this up if he tried) in tow. Eddy groaned to himself. Great, she brought her friends. He had a feeling he wasn’t getting out of this anytime soon.

 

“Oh, I’m all right Raven. I just had a bit of a collision.” ‘Apple’ said to what he guessed was her friend. “Seriously, who named their kid Apple?” Eddy asked Double D in a whisper, weirded out by this revelation. All he got was an elbow in the stomach and a quiet _shush_ as a response. Raven stopped when she got to Apple, still checking over a friend in worry. “Looked like a pretty bad spill, and trust me, I’ve seen plenty of those.” The pink haired girl said, throwing her two cents in. Something within Eddy told him that was a pun, but he didn’t know why.

 

Thankfully, Eddward found this a good time to speak up. “We do apologize about the collision, my colleague here was trying to find a friend of ours. Unfortunately, he seemed to find yours instead.” Double D apologized, being as polite as he possibly could. Eddy had to groan to himself. Here Sockhead goes again, being as nerdy as possible while barely trying to hide it.

 

Raven and the pink haired girl seemed to finally notice them after Double D spoke up. “It’s okay, if Apple says she’s fine, then everything’s good.” She replied, waving her hand as if to brush off what happened. “Sorry for interrupting your search,” Apple interjected, “We’re not from around here, so we were wandering around to get our bearings. I hope your friend is all right. Do you need help looking for them?” The red princess figured helping these two find their friend would be a step in the right direction in getting to know people on this side of the Gate. She felt guilty for running into them anyway.

 

“Yeah, he’s about yay big, orange hair, probably doing something weird that draws attention to himself.” Eddy said, standing on the tips of his toes, reaching his hand up high show how tall Ed was. “Sorry, haven’t seen someone like that.” Raven said, shaking her head. The pink hair and Apple sook their head no too. Eddy groaned again. This was a waste of time, they should just get going. “Come on Sockhead, we should go. If we don’t find him soon, we’re going to miss that group thing.” Eddy said, turning around, and starting to walk away from this insanity before getting stopped _again_.

 

“Group thing? You wouldn’t happen to be going to room B413 right?” Apple inquired. “Yes, actually. We were heading there when our friend disappeared on us. Why do you ask?” Double D said in surprise. “That’s where we’re going.” Raven said, waving around a pamphlet she had gotten from the front desk. “Glad to see we aren’t the only ones going. Do you need help getting there? I was able to grab a map and it looks like you guys are lost. Maybe your friend is already at the room.” Eddy was about to refuse out of pride, but Double D seemed to beat him to the punch.

 

“Stranger things have happened. That sound wonderful. May I ask for your names, since we’ll all be working together soon? We’d be glad to show you around if need be.” Double D asked, who was relieved to find someone that knew where to go. The pink girl jumped forward, grabbing Double D and Eddy’s hands, and shaking them energetically. “Good to meet you then! I’m Maddie, this is Raven, my best friend. And I believe that you’ve already met Apple.” Eddy blushed in embarrassment at that last part. He was never going to live that down, would he? Double D, finally wrestling his hand away from the girl’s grip, said “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Eddward, but everyone calls me Double D. And my friend here is called Eddy.” Eddy waved hello to them lazily when Eddward brought him up. He wasn’t sure to feel about these three. They said they weren’t from around here, but where the heck could they possibly come from?

 

“It’s nice to meet you both. I hope this will be the start of an excellent friendship.” Apple said cheerfully. She wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about these two just yet, honestly. The one wearing red seemed friendly enough, but she had her misgivings about his companion. He looked like he didn’t want to be here at all, much less talking to them. Hopefully she would get along with him, but she had the feeling it wouldn’t be so easy.

 

“We should probably get going, we don’t want to be late.” Raven said, heading towards a flight of stairs. This spurred the group to actually start moving. Maddie skipped by Ravens side, Apple catching up to them as quickly as she could. When they were far enough away, Apple whispered something in Ravens ear.

 

“Are you sure we should be bringing them with us? We just met them and don’t know what they’re like.” Raven rolled her eyes at her friend’s paranoia. “Apple, I’m sure they’re okay. I mean, the short guy seems like he needs an attitude adjustment, but Double D seemed polite. Besides, I have magic. If they try anything weird, giving a little demonstration will scare them off.” Apple still didn’t look too sure, but decided to go along with it. She had to trust her friend on this one, Raven did tend to be a excellent judge of character.

 

Eddy and Eddward stood in the same spot for a few minutes, before they decided to follow the three girls. Eddy still tried to complain one last time though. “Are we seriously going to follow people who decide to dress up for group therapy like they’re going to a ball? That really isn’t normal. Makes me feel a little underdressed, honestly.” Eddy griped, smoothing out his clothes, feeling a bit insecure. “Not all of us can be made by Mattel, Eddy. Besides, who are we to talk about normality.” Double D said, speeding up to join the girls. Eddy rolled his eyes, but smiled as he did the same.

 

It wasn’t like Double D didn’t have a point.


	3. The Session

Room B413 was a simple room, looking just like any other room you’d find in any activity room in the world. Blank white walls with corkboards, covered in fliers for activities and events that happened a month earlier. A dingy little television in one corner, on a wheeled stand that doesn’t look like it was used in years. Laminate flooring that’s supposed to look like hardwood, but it really isn’t. Metal folding chairs that look slightly rusted, piled precariously in the corner opposite to the television. And most important of all, the calm, still feeling an activity room provides whenever it’s empty, providing a feeling of peace to anyone who walked in.

 

Which was all promptly shattered when Ed slammed the door open.

 

“Honey, I’m home!” He said, flinging the door open carelessly, getting into a pose with his arms outstretched above his head. The wall the door hit was miraculously not broken, despite Ed opening it with all his strength. “Probably could have done that a little more gently, big guy.” Clawdeen said, walking in after him and wincing at the slam. She looked around the room and made sure to check the number, smiling when she confirmed this was where they were supposed to be. “Thanks for getting us here, though. Looks like we’re here early too.”

 

Ed, still having a huge smile on his face, saluted. “Always glad to help.” He looked proud of it, for some strange reason. Then again, they couldn’t find this room without the help of a map and even then, it wasn’t useful. It was a good thing they ran into him when they did. “Thank the gods, we can finally sit down.” Cleo said, sighing loudly as she walked in. “Seriously, why does a building like this need to so many rooms?” Ghoulia came in last, looking around before answering the mummy’s question. _“It is between two different cities, one that contains the Gate. It probably has been the site for many gatherings, important or otherwise.”_ “Yeah, or the writer needed an excuse for some of the characters to meet before this chapter.” Ed said, looking around the room too. He received a few stares after he said that. He noticed it after a few second and felt the need to add, “Or it could be both. Both is good.” The ghouls decided it would be best to ask later since the event was going to happens soon.

 

“You’d think whoever decided to create this function would at least set up some of the chairs beforehand. We are guests.” Huffed Cleo. She went over to the stack of chairs, daintily looking through them to find the cleanest looking one. Clawdeen rolled her eyes, jokingly saying, “Well sorry your highness, they must be running late. Happens to the best of us.” Despite her joke, she was a little ticked off to see the whoever was running the joint hadn’t arrived. If they decided to cancel or something after all the trouble she went to, she would probably scream. Or destroy some furniture. The night was still young.

 

 _“Yeah, it took us bit to get here, it might be the same for them. Speaking of running late, didn’t you say you’d have to find your friends, Ed?”_ Ghoulia questioned Ed, who was playing around with one of the blank corkboards. It looked like he trying to make an image out of the pins, but she wasn’t sure what he was going for. Sticking his tongue out, trying to determine where to put a specific pin, he answered her. “Yeah, they’re probably gonna kill me since I kinda disappeared on them. Though I think they’ll find me soon enough.” That only seemed to confuse Ghoulia further. _“How do you know that?”_ Ed smiled a bit before he answered. “I don’t know. _Something_ usually happens to move things forward.” Everyone looked like they wanted to ask more questions, but they were interrupted when they heard footsteps coming from down the hall.

 

“Didn’t we already walk past this place like five times already? Wonderland is still more confusing than this place, but this still isn’t much better.” Said an indignant female voice coming from down the hall. “This is quite the conundrum. I doubted the reasons for having a map before, but it appears it truly is needed.” Came a second, male voice. “What do you mean this place is almost as confusing as Wonderland? Is that some kind of club or something?” Another, more irritated male voice. A posh voice answered him a second later, “More of big strange place that- oh wait, I think this is it!” The door opened a second later, another group filing in.

 

There were a few seconds of awkward silence as both groups looked at each other. Up until one of the new people in the group turned to the Ed, shouting, “Where have you been?!”

 

“Eddy!” Ed shouted back. Guess these were the friends he was talking about earlier. “I knew you guys would find me.” Ed grabbed the two boys into a hug, the smaller one struggling while the other just smiled awkwardly. “Good to see you to Ed, but can you let go of us. Can’t… breath…” said the second boy, much more politely than the first. The big guy quickly let go, dropping them both on their behinds. Eddy stood up, making sure to preserve his dignity. “Seriously, Lumpy, where the heck did you go?! Me and Double D were about to go ballistic when ditched us like that.” Eddy said, pointing up at Ed, who had enough sense to look a little guilty. “Double D and _I_ , Eddy.” Double D corrected, making Eddy turn his glare to him. “And while Eddy may be acting a bit harsh here, he has a point. What exactly did you think you were doing?” he continued, putting his hands on his hips.

 

Clawdeen had to stifle a laugh. The way he said sounded exactly like mom would scold their children, which was funny to her for some reason. Ed, shrinking a bit under the reproach, started to explain himself. “You guys were arguing over finding the room, so I wanted to go find it myself, so you guys would stop. I started walking around to find it, but I kinda remembered that I didn’t know the number.” Eddy facepalmed at that, muttering something under his breath. “I wasn’t sure how to get back, so I kept going forward, thinking I’d find something. I found this aquarium things and…” Ed stopped for a second, then brightened up. “Oh yeah, I made some new friends too. Hey Ghoulia! Wanna meet my friends?” Eddy turned to Double D, confusion on his face. “Ghoulia? What’s up with peoples names these days?” He whispered, only receiving a light shrug.

 

Ghoulia, startled by Ed’s sudden question. She nodded after a minute of wondering if she should. She figured that it wouldn’t hurt to try, though she remained a bit self-conscious. She shuffled over shyly, making sure to keep her eye on the two Ed wanted her to meet. The short one (Eddy, she recalled) seemed a bit suspicious, but otherwise didn’t look put off. Double D was trying to look polite, but she sensed curiosity coming off him. When she made it over to them, she reached her hand out, not sure how this would go. Thankfully, the friendlier looking one took it.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Glad to see that Ed made some new friends while we were out of commission.” The handshake was prompt and formal, done quickly. Eddy was next, handshake surprisingly firm and practiced. “Yeah, nice to meet ya too. Hope he didn’t do anything too weird while we were gone.” Ghoulia smiled a bit, they at least seemed to try to be friendly.

 

 _“It’s nice to meet you both as well.”_ Ghoulia said in response. She wondered if they were able to understand her too.

 

“…Huh?” Eddy said, looking very confused, if a bit concerned. A little disheartening, one out of three still isn’t bad. “Oh yeah, should have mentioned she’s a zombie. She said that it’s nice to meet you guys.” Ed said. That seemed to explain everything to Double D, but Eddy still looked confused. Double D, seeing Eddy’s confusion, decided to explain. “Zombies have a different language due to the decay of their vocal chords before they come back from the dead. At least, I believe that is correct?” He said quickly, turning to Ghoulia at the end to confirm. She nodded, feeling a bit better that at least one of them knew the problem. Eddy still looked a bit confused, but he nodded anyway. Figures that Ed would make a friend that no one could possibly understand without his help.

 

“Wait, then how does Ed understand her?” Eddy realized, getting even more confused. He heard someone in the background say ‘finally’ but decided to ignore it. Double D looked ready to explain that one, before stopping and looking just as confused Eddy did. “…I’m not sure.” Double D said, looking lost. There was a moment of awkward silence where no one said anything until Eddy spoke up again. “Whatever, it’s Ed. Should really stop questioning it by now.” Ghoulia raised an eyebrow at that, but decided not to question it, as the short Normie said. “Guess Ed will have to be our translator. Hope that isn’t a problem.” Eddy said, giving the Ed and Ghoulia (seriously, what was with the names here). It would have to do for now.

 

While this exchange happened, the remaining monsters and the fairy tale group were introducing themselves too. “Well it’s nice to see that they found their friend. I almost thought they wouldn’t find him here.” Apple said amicably, trying to start a conversation. “Yeah, good thing we decided to head here first. Any idea when the guy running this will get here?” Raven asked Clawdeen. “Not sure, we got here not long before you did. Hopefully they get here soon.” She said while crossing her arms, getting a little impatient at the lack of supervision.

 

Raven couldn’t help but notice Clawdeens ears. She couldn’t help but smile a bit, remembering something from back home. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be a werewolf, right? The ears are kind of a dead giveaway.” Clawdeen chuckled bit, giving a sideways glance at the girl. “The fangs and fur weren’t that obvious? Yeah, why do you ask?” She asked. She didn’t know what she was aiming at with a question like that, but she decided to bite. “Haven’t really met any werewolves outside out of Ever After before. My names Raven.” She said, extending her hand. Clawdeen perked up a bit, extending her own for a handshake. “Nice to meet you too. What do you mean by ‘outside Ever After’?”

 

Apple jumped into the conversation at that point. “Yeah, we’re from the other side of the Gate in Croisement. We thought coming here would be good start to checking this world out.” This got Cleo’s attention for better of worse. “Is that so. I’ve heard so much about it and was meaning to explore your side of the gate myself one day. I’m Cleo De Nile, a part of the De Nile family.” She said, inserting herself directly into the conversation.

 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” Apple said, grabbing the mummy’s hand, but jumped a bit, yelping. “Oh my, it feels like you’re freezing. Are you okay?” Cleo was almost offended for a second, but she was used to this. She didn’t show the more common traits of an undead, so a lot of people thought she was human at first glance. “Not to worry, that’s just a consequence of not having a heartbeat.” That seemed to confuse the poor girl in red. She had to chuckle a bit at her perplexed look before deciding to explain. “I’m undead, dear. I’m guessing you’re fantasy setting lacks a proper school of necromancy?” That seemed to get the message across, as Apple jumped a bit, an embarrassed smile crossing her face. “Oh, well, uh…”

 

“Everyone here is from a cartoon, so it wouldn’t be appropriate.” Maddie interrupted, causing both monster and fairy tales to jump a bit. Raven added to statement with, “That and it’s extremely illegal thanks to some abuses of it a long way back.” The monsters turned their attention to Raven and the strange girl. Looking back and forth between the two, Cleo sighed and said, “Looks like you two will get along with the Normie we picked up.”

 

Before anyone could say anything else to each other, they heard a large crash in hallway, startling everyone out of their conversations. Everyone looked towards the doorway, hearing some curses and a slew of apologies coming from the other side. They heard the knob turn a second later.

 

They were greeted by a frazzled looking college student, muttering curses under his breath and wiping at some purple liquid on his shirt. He was wearing a simple dress shirt, dress pants, dark shoes, and a red tie. Short black hair, brown-black eyes looking frustrated. He was holding books and folders under his arm, his hands currently busy trying to get rid of the liquid that would most likely stain anyway. He didn’t seem to notice anybody in the room until he looked up. He paused when he saw everybody standing there, a blank look on his face as he looked over each person. When he was done, he sighed, going a bit limp and looking at the floor. “Well, glad I made a good first impression. Late and cursing like a sailor with prune juice on your shirt. Real professional.” He straightened up quickly, trying to regain his composure, stuttering as he talked. “Alright everybody, lets get our chairs set up and we can get this started.”

 

Everybody, still a bit confused by the new guys arrival just decided to do as he said for now. Was this the guy running the show here? Everyone quickly grabbed their chairs and put them in a circle, the new guy doing the same while getting a clipboard and looking like he was checking it out. They got into their seats, making sure to sit by their respective friends. The new guy remained silent for a minute, checking off whatever he had on his board before looking up. Clearing his throat, he started talking to everyone.

 

“Okay, everyone. Thank you all for coming here today and sorry for making you wait.” He said, looking at each person carefully as he said it. “I’m glad to see so many people here, this is a good turnout for something that just started. Also, I might add, a surprisingly diverse group. I’m glad to see so many different faces here today and I hope we will all get along.” He smiled as he said this, though it was shaky and nervous. It was obvious he hadn’t done this before. “My name is Mr. Curtis Lambert. Before anyone asks, yes, I’m the guy running this. This is a not only a project I’m doing for college, but I am also doing this for experience in my degree field.” This time, he was a bit indignant, like he expected them to ask about it any minute. “Alright, are there any questions you have for me before we officially begin?” He asked, pausing, and waiting for anyone to say anything. There was some shuffling and some murmurs, but it didn’t look like anyone had any questions.

 

When no one raised their hand, he sighed a bit, looking relieved by this. He looked around one final time before he decided to say anything else. “Alright then. I think this session would be best spent getting to know one another, so I guess introductions are in order. Who would like to introduce themselves and explain why they’re here?”

 

There was an awkward silence again. No one in the group seemed sure if they wanted to speak up, either due to shyness, reluctance, politeness, or combination of all three. Everyone looked at each other for brief moments, never making any real contact. Being the first person to talk didn’t really appeal to anyone.

 

Lambert sighed. “That’s all right, no one ever wants to be first when presenting something. I get it. I’ll set up how this goes, then we go clockwise.” He stood up out of his chair, putting his books down beside it. He cleared his throat again before starting. “I’m Curtis Lambert, as I’ve already said before. I’m twenty-one years old, a college student, and I created this therapy group as a project and a way to get experience as a psychologist. I will be recording on who joins and leaves, along with the progress of each person if they keep coming back regularly. I will keep names private if asked, as long as we all cooperate with each other.” He sat back down, picking his clipboard back up and writing something on it. He looked around the room again, waiting for any questions. He didn’t receive any. He nodded at the person next to him, who just so happened to be Eddy.

 

Eddy groaned a bit, but bit it down when he received a look from Double D. Figures he’d have to go next. Eddy got up much more lazily, putting his hands in his pockets. He breathed in and out before putting on a fake showman’s smile. He might as well make a show of it while he was here.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Eddy, as some of you already know. I’m from Peach Creek, probably the smallest town you’ll ever see. I was pretty much dragged here against my will by my friend Sockhead over here.” He said, pointing towards his glaring friend. “Apparently, he thinks I have few problems I need to deal with, just because I did a few things that aren’t particularly good. I’ll admit I have a few anger issues here and there, maybe I’m not that polite, and maybe I’m a little more ambitious than others, but I don’t really see a problem here. At worst, I’m just bit cooler than others.” Double D had his nose pinched between his fingers, shaking his head a bit at this point. “I’ll participate, but don’t expect any miracles other than that.” He said finally, sitting down promptly in a huff. He dared anyone to ask anything else from him, but it looked like no one was going to speak up.

 

Cleo had to stifle a laugh at Clawdeens expression, said girl realizing that she may have to deal with a second Cleo running around. The fairy tales remained silent, Apple a little perturbed by Eddy’s show of aggression. Ghoulia sent a sympathetic look in Double D’s direction, but he didn’t notice.

 

Double D stood up next, still glaring a bit at Eddy as he did. He straightened out his clothing and put his hands behind his back. Standing straight up, he spoke up. “My name is Eddward, but due to having similar names to my two compatriots here, everyone calls me Double D. Yes, I am the one that brought my friends here to this function. And in my defense, Eddy’s ‘cool personality.’ causes quite a bit of property damage back home. Not to mention most of those actions are usually either scams other fiascos.” Eddy shifted a bit as some looks went to him, but he still looked indignant. “Admittedly, I came here for my own benefit as well. I admittedly have some bad OCD, something that was much more manageable in my youth. There are other things that want to work through as well, but I want to work on that first.” He sat down immediately after, though he looked around, open for any questions.

 

“Good job on bringing him here without bribing him or something. I had to make her come here by making sure she lost a bet.” Clawdeen said, nodding in approval at Double D while she pointed at Cleo. The mummy stopped laughing instantly, glaring at the werewolf. Double D smiled and chuckled a bit, glad to know he wasn’t the only one here with an angry cohort. “Are we the only ones here that came voluntarily?” Apple asked her friends, starting to get a little worried at how this was all going. Raven and Maddie shrugged, though Raven shushed them when Ed started to take his turn.

 

“Hey everybody, my name is Ed!” Ed exclaimed, making everybody except Ghoulia and Maddie jump. “I like comic books, B-movies, and lots of other stuff. I’ve been friends with Eddy and Double D since I was…” He trailed off for a second, counting on his fingers for a second before speaking up again. “Since I was six years old! We had the same names and we’ve been friends ever since.” He paused again, scratching his cheek and blank look crossing his face. “I’m not really sure why I’m here. Double D said it would be good place to talk about stuff and he’s usually right about this stuff. He says I’ve been acting ‘irratic’, whatever that means, and that I should do something about it here. At least I met some cool friends here.” He waved to the monsters at the last part, who waved back in different degrees of enthusiasm. Double D corrected him quickly, saying “It ‘erratic’ Ed, not ‘irratic’.”

 

“Wait, you all decided to be friends just because you had the same name?” Cleo asked the three humans in attendance. “That’s a very simple reason to become friends.” Eddy looked at Cleo mockingly, a little offended by that. “Hey, we thought that was the coolest thing in the world when we were six, get off our backs. Weren’t you a kid once or were you too busy dolling yourself up like you were a rip-off Bratz doll?” The mummy back straightened at that, face turning into a scowl at the retort. She was going to say something horrible back to him before she felt Ghoulia’s hand grab her shoulder. She bit back what she was going to say, but still scowled at the Normie. The nerve!

 

“I would like it if no one resorted to insults during this. This is supposed to be a supportive environment, not an arena. I’m talking to you especially, Eddy and Miss De Nile.” Lambert said, trying to push some authority on the group. Eddy just crossed his arms and glared at the college student trying to play off as an adult, but didn’t say anything in response.

 

Clawdeen, the next person in line, couldn’t get up quick enough. “I’m Clawdeen Wolf, obviously from New Salem. I’m the one that brought my friends here, whether they liked it or not.” Cleo turned her nose up in a huff at that, not looking in Clawdeens direction when she said that. “I want to be a professional fashion designer after I get out of college, I even had a line in produced in Scaris, where the monster population of Paris lives.” She received some impressed looks from everyone at that, pride surging up in her. “I guess the reason I decided to come here was because everyone says that I can be a take on a little too much or work a little too hard. I think that’s ridiculous, I know when to take a… a…” She was interrupted by a yawn coming out of her mouth, accidentally displaying her sharp teeth. “Anyway, I know when to stop. Figured that I should bring friends here that need it more than I do since I had the time.”

 

“Seriously, her last name is Wolf? That’s little too on the nose.” Eddy whispered to Double D. He had to rub his shoulder for the second time today a second later. Double D smiled innocently when Clawdeen looked their way. “That really is impressive, it’s hard to argue with a good work ethic.” Double D said, doing his best to make a quick save. Thankfully, that worked like a charm, as she didn’t ask any questions. So far, it was all going well, despite a few hiccups along the way. “Depends on the work ethic, I guess…” Lambert muttered to himself, adding another note to the clipboard.

 

It was Cleo’s turn next. Gracefully standing up, her eyes scanned the room, a neutral look tacked on to her face. She spoke regally, like she was giving an edict rather than talking amongst her peers. “I am Cleo De Nile and it is just Cleo. I am the daughter of Ramses De Nile, the second possible heir of not only my father’s corporation, but his throne.” She noticed Eddy chuckling a bit, looking at her like she was nuts for a second. She held back another scowl from crossing her face as she moved forward. “Despite how I look, I am actually much older than all of you. I was entombed when I was about fourteen and have only been out for about two or three years. I’m actually about 5,842 years old, give or take a few years.” She was amused by the shocked expressions from everyone that wasn’t a monster. Somehow, it never got less funny each time she told people. “I will admit, when I came back to the world of the living and dead, I wasn’t the nicest ghoul. However, I am better than before after a few humbling experiences.” She heard Clawdeen snicker beside her, but she chose to ignore it. “Despite that, however, my friends and my own boyfriend seem to think I need to do this. I lost a bet to Clawdeen, so now I’m here. That is really all I’m willing to say.” She sat down afterwards. But before she did, she stage whispered to Eddy. “How’s that for a Bratz doll rip-off.”

 

Eddy bit back a retort that would have fantastic right now, if only he wasn’t being looked at by both Double D and the therapist. That latter of the two looked away after a couple of seconds, giving a look at Cleo too. “Miss De Nile, I thought I said not to cause any conflict here.” De Nile gave an innocent smile, though it didn’t look like it was working. Lambert looked at his watch, frowning a bit. “We should hurry and get these introductions done soon. We don’t have much time.”  


Ghoulia got up next, but made sure Cleo went up with her too. Before she began, she whispered something to Cleo, who nodded before speaking up. “Since not everyone here can speak zombie, I will have to translate for her. Is that alright, Mr. Lambert?” Cleo asked politely. Lambert nodded in understanding before he brought up his clipboard again.

 

Ghoulia waited a second, looking nervous. When she finally began to talk, she talked quietly, almost letting everyone except Cleo hear her. _“It’s… It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Ghoulia Yelps, I’m also from New Salem. I guess I’m here to not only support my friends, but I also wanted to increase my self esteem a bit. It isn’t easy being a zombie, especially when it comes to talking to people. Few people take the time to learn zombie, so it’s hard to make new friends easily.”_ She rubbed her arm shyly, looking up briefly at everyone. _“My social circle is pretty limited, so I thought maybe doing something like this would help improve it. I already made one new friend here, actually.”_ She smiled at that, giving a quick look at Ed, who was listening intently. _“I hope we all get along well and that I get to know you all better in the future.”_ She quickly sat down again, composing herself as she did. It was somehow the briefest introduction yet, but it seemed like it took a lot out of her.

 

Raven gave her a sympathetic look, even looking a bit pained by the what Ghoulia said. “Yeah, it isn’t easy to make friends, especially if they aren’t willing to get to know you.” She said, getting a smile in return. Maddie grabbed both of their hands and gave them a strong squeeze, a comforting gesture to both fairy tale and monster. Maddie got up to take her turn next.

 

“Hello, everybody. My name is Madeline Hatter, but that’s too formal. Call me Maddie instead.” She giggled and fixed the hat on her head into a more tilted position. “It probably isn’t a stretch of the imagination to figure out that I’m the Mad Hatters daughter. I’m not only from the world of Ever After, but I’m also from- again, you probably already guessed it- the wonderful world of Wonderland!” She stretched out her arms, shaking her hands in a showy way as she grinned. “In Ever After and Wonderland, we ‘Legends’ are hexpected to follow the destinies of our ancestors, otherwise something _horrible_ will happen. Though Headmaster Grimm never really gave a logical explanation as to what that is.” Maddie tapped her chin, staring into space with a contemplative look. “Heck, he told us we would disappear if we didn’t do it, but that obviously isn’t true… but anyway, I’m supposed to be the next Mad Hatter. I decided to join Apple and Raven here because I’ve heard so many interesting things about this world and I wanted to explore it.” She stopped for a second, smile falling from her face briefly, before she continued. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to talk about how some things here as well. Especially about having to run away from home.” She looked forlorn, as if remembering something awful, but put up a front before anyone can question it.

 

Everyone in the room couldn’t help but be intrigued by that, but didn’t dare say anything. She didn’t look ready to talk about it just yet, so they all left it be. Double D noticed that Raven had flinched and had a remorseful look on her face momentarily, but for the life of him couldn’t figure out why. She seemed like a nice girl, why did she look so guilty?

 

Raven got up next. “I guess that’s a good segue when it comes to me. I’m Raven Queen. Like Maddie said about our destinies, I’m supposed to follow mine. Unfortunately, I really don’t want to because I’m supposed to play the villain.” Raven gulped a little bit, steeling herself for the reactions she knew were going to come. “My destiny is to be the Evil Queen, the one that poisons the next Snow White. My mother, the previous Evil Queen, decided that I should have some big shoes to fill before she was imprisoned years ago. She took over any kingdoms she wanted with brute force, ruined the lives of anyone that stood in her way, and has tried to plunge Ever After into chaos more times than anyone can count.” Raven looked down at her feet and clasped hands, ashamed. “Everyone expects me to be exactly like her, so a lot of people are afraid to get close because of it. But trust me when I say this, that is the last thing I want to do.” That sounded a bit defensive, but she couldn’t help but point that out. “I’ve been refusing to follow her footsteps since day one of high school. Though, thanks to that, I’ve accidentally started a mini-rebellion because of it. I just want to choose what I do in life rather than have my bloodline do it for me. And I don’t want anyone to judge me based on my destiny either. I figured coming here would let me air out that frustration.” She sat down afterward, not looking up out of fear of everyone’s reactions.

 

“…Wow, okay. That was pretty heavy.” Eddy said, causing Raven to jump a bit. There had been silence after she was finished, and Eddy had broken it easily. Raven looked around, surprised to see the sympathetic looks cast her way. Even Cleo seemed sympathetic to her plight, but Raven wasn’t sure since Cleo was fighting to keep her face in a neutral expression. Maddie had grabbed her hand again and was squeezing it again with renewed vigor. Maybe coming her was a good idea after all.

 

Apple, nervous about going last, especially since she had to go after _that_. But she stood up anyway, making sure she her awkwardness wasn’t obvious. When she opened her mouth, her words sounding practiced as she began to speak. “Greeting, everyone. I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Apple White, the heir to the throne and destiny of Snow White.” A murmur went about the room at the mention of her destiny, looks of surprise. She probably imagined it, but she could have sworn that Eddy had look of concern go over his face at the mention of her name. “As you may now, Raven is the one that is supposed to poison me and make me go into my cursed sleep in my story. Of course, this would lead to my prince eventually coming to find me and reverse the spell with true loves kiss, where I would get my Happily Ever After.” She cleared her throat, not looking forward in telling the next part. “Obviously, I didn’t take the news that Raven would not play her part well. For a while, I tried to make Raven follow her destiny so that I could ensure my Happily Ever After, which thankfully never worked. I had gotten desperate many different times, leading to many disasters that could have been easily avoided. I never had to face the idea that my destiny wasn’t set in stone and that someone could refuse to play the part, so I things were frantic for a while. I do accept Ravens choice now, even though it took me much too long to do so.” Apple looked away in shame for a second, a bitter smile crossing her face. “I decided to come here because I figured it was about time to get help about this. Not only to stop me from going to far, but to help me face this… uncertainty. I don’t want a Happily Ever After if it means I have to hurt my friends to get it.”

 

Apple sat down afterwards, emotionally exhausted. It was a lot to get off her chest, but she just wanted to get it out into the open. There was silence again in the room, no one was sure what to say. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly, the only sound in the room being the furious scribbling of Lambert writing on his clipboard.

 

The silence broken after Lambert looked at his watch, who had frowned a little bit when he saw the time. “Looks like this is all the time we had today. Good job, folks, I feel like we made a good start in the right direction here. I hope you all come back every week for this. It sounds like we’ll all need it.” Lambert stood up, looking proud of himself while checking over his notes. Everyone got up slowly at that, putting away the chairs they had been sitting in. No one said anything until they got out the door a second later.

 

* * *

 

 

“Jeez, things started getting pretty heavy at the end. Especially with Raven and Apple, seriously…” Eddy muttered, walking down the hallway with Ed and Double D behind him. “Do you think that you would be interested in attending again? If at least for a little while.” Double D asked, hoping at least a little bit that Eddy would be interested. Eddy sighed a bit at that, a grimace on his face. “I honestly don’t know Sockhead. That was a strange experience, but I think I was the only one there not taking it seriously. You said it yourself, they’re here to help themselves. I was just dragged there. Besides, that Cleo girl gets on my nerves.”

 

“Aww, are you afraid I’ll bite your head off.” Came a mocking voice from behind them. The Ed’s jumped a bit before turning around, finding said Egyptian princess standing behind them. Eddy groaned a bit before he talked back. “Yeah, I’m _so_ afraid of you and your manicure, princess. What do you want?” Eddy irritated expression matched the one that was one Cleo’s face. “I’m just saying, if you’re too afraid to face everyone in there, including me, you should be able to say it. It might make you feel better.” Cleo said haughtily, making sure to stand at full height. Eddy scoffed at that, rolling his eyes at the jab.

 

“Like you were going to go a second time. You didn’t want to come here as much as I did. A little hypocritical for you to point that out, don’t you think?” Eddy smirked, knowing he at least got her there. Cleo frowned, but she didn’t look like she was going to back down. Double D decided that maybe he should step in before it got potentially violent.

 

“Alright, maybe we shouldn’t quarrel here. Both parties have said some things to each other they’ll regret later, let’s be mature about this.” Double D said, sweating while trying to get between them. Clawdeen, having caught up to Cleo and having heard everything tried to help too. “Yeah, let’s not do this, we’re all exhausted. Let’s all just go home and rest.”

 

The two hotheads ignored them though, still glaring at one another. “I’d be willing to go through with this, unlike you. I at least tried to be nice during my introduction.” Another scoff from Eddy. “Well I at least didn’t brag during mine, Ms. I’m-Egyptian-Royalty. And who says I can’t commit to this? I expected you to just up and leave halfway through.”

 

Cleo narrowed her eyes at the Normie, starting to reach her wits end with him. “Is that so? How about we settle this with a wager. We both come to this every week, without fail, unless under extreme circumstances. For whoever decides to dropout first, will owe the victor something. What that something is will be decided later.” Cleo held out her hand to Eddy, smiling a bit to herself. “Do we have a deal?” Eddy just laughed bit, taking her hand, and shaking it roughly. “You lost a bet to get here, so I really like my chances! You. Are. On.” Eddy said, determined to win this bet. After he let go, he turned back towards his friends. “Looks like this is a weekly thing guys. Let’s get to the car!” Ed cheered at the declaration, following Eddy when he started heading down the hallway again, leaving a sputtering Double D behind.

 

“But…he was just…it took me the entire day to… ugh.” Double D tried to say something, but he gave up. “Whatever. I guess if it gets them to attend, then I guess it works out. Right?” He turned to Clawdeen as he said this, looking for confirmation as he said this. “It’s got to count for something.” That was the only response she could come up with, before she decided to follow Cleo. Double D, after watching her go, decided to do the same.

 

When he caught up to them, he couldn’t help but overhear Eddy asking Ed a question that had been bothering him after they had left the session.

 

“Seriously, who names their kid after the thing they were poisoned by? That’s just sick.”

 

* * *

 

 

“That was… exhausting. But that was nice. I wouldn’t mind doing this again.” Raven said while they were waiting for the taxi. Maddie couldn’t help but nod happily. “Yeah, there were a lot of interesting people there. I really can’t wait till next week. You think everyone will keep coming?”

 

Raven certainly hoped so. She didn’t mean to say so much back there, but it just spilled right out of her. After hearing Ghoulia, she couldn’t help herself, not to mention the guilt when after Maddie talked. It seemed like everyone was there for a reason, so she hoped that she could help them open up too. “I don’t see why not. Seemed like everyone was taking it seriously enough. I’m surprised how young the guy running it is, though.” Maddie nodded excitedly again. “I know! Not a bad start for him, though he’ll get better at this soon. Do you think so Apple? Apple?”

 

Apple, who had been staring into space, blinked several times before she answered. “Ah, sorry! I was just thinking. I’m sure he’ll get the hang of it soon enough.” Raven raised her eyebrow at Apple, wondering what was getting her so lost in her thoughts. “Everything all right there? I know that wasn’t the easiest thing to do back there, but I think you did great.” She said this while patting Apples back in a comforting manner.

 

Apple smiled tiredly, rubbing her eyes carefully so she wouldn’t ruin her makeup. “I’m okay. I just want to rest when I get home. I hope this all goes well.” Apple yawned after she said this, covering he mouth as she said this. “I was wondering what the people here were like so much before we got here. I was actually scared, especially when I heard about the monsters, but everyone is really nice here.” Raven chuckled a little bit. “Well, it’s not like everyone here will bite your head off. It seems like we got caught with an interesting group though, right?”

 

Apple couldn’t but notice the three boys from earlier, walking up to what she assumed was their van. Double D and Eddy looked like they were having an intense conversation, which was promptly interrupted when Ed picked them both up in a bear hug. Eddy was struggling to get out of it, cursing the entire time as he did it, while Double D just sighed and accepted it. She almost laughed when Eddy was pushing Ed’s face, who was laughing as he kept walking towards the car.

 

She turned to Raven and smiled, saying “We sure did.”

 

* * *

 

 

Clawdeen was smiling as she and the ghouls piled into the limo, much to Cleo’s chagrin. “I still can’t believe you did that. Looks like I won’t have to drag you down here after all.” Cleo rolled her eyes at her werewolf friend once again. Her competitiveness always seemed to get her in trouble, no matter how hard she tried. “You don’t have to rub it in. I know what I did, and I stand by it.”

 

 _“Still, that was funny to watch. At least we know you’ll stick with it, your way to stubborn to back out of a deal.”_ Ghoulia said as well, getting comfortable while she said it. “Can we just drop it for now. I really can’t wait to get back home to the Fearamid. Hissette probably misses me.” Cleo said, trying to change the subject as fast as she could.

 

“Why don’t you take a nap Clawdeen, it’ll be good for you to get some sleep.” Cleo said, though it looked like the werewolf beat her to the punch. She was already fast asleep, breathing slowly with her eyes closed peacefully. _“She really needs to take a break some time. This can’t be good for her.”_ A concerned Ghoulia whispered to her. “I know, I understand wanting to work towards perfection, but not to this extent.” Cleo said, getting into a relaxed position herself.

 

A moment of comfortable silence was shared between the two friends, though Cleo didn’t keep it that way for long. “Despite being tricked into going, I guess it wasn’t that unpleasant of an experience. At the very least, I have someone to entertain me when I’m bored.” Ghoulia smiled, glad to hear that. _“Yeah, I mean, I made a new friend there before the session even started. This seems like it would be good thing for all of us as long as nothing stand in our way.”_ Cleo frowned a bit at that. “I would be careful, Ghoulia, saying it like that will jinx us. Always seems to in situations like this.” Another comfortable silence seemed to go over them, both enjoying the moment of peace while the driver started to get out of the parking lot.

 

Until the car decided to lurch, a horn sounding what they both swore sounded like “La Cucaracha.” Cleo rolled down her window, just able to catch sight of a van and the familiar yell of “Watch where you’re going!” She paused for a second, before coming to a quick realization.

 

Why didn’t it surprise her that self-centered lunatic owned that van?


	4. Second Verse

Curtis Lambert walked into Room B413, sighing in relief when he realized he was the first one there. Arriving at the first session late was a serious blow to his professionalism in front of those kids. Not to mention running into that old lady with the pudding cart, who he swore had it in for him. He’d have to step up his game, otherwise those kids will eat him alive.

 

He kept himself busy by setting up the chairs, thinking to himself about the group in question. He was a little disappointed that he didn’t exactly get a better age range, but he was a little excited to get such a diverse group. Did the other students in his class have undead rulers or beings from another dimension involved with their projects? Of course, they don’t, he was the only one!

 

Then again, he hadn’t counted on the group being entirely comprised of teenagers. He may not have been much older than they were, but it was still weird working with a bunch of kids. Lambert guessed that he’d have to deal with it if nothing ‘interesting’ happens while he’s in charge.

 

“As long as that Eddy kid doesn’t start a fight with De Nile at least.” He muttered to himself, looking over the notes one final time. Those two were probably going to be quite the trouble makers, a rivalry on day one. “It looks like Eddward and Ms. Yelps are good at keeping them in line, but they better not fight in the room.” He didn’t want to pay for damages or have the entire project fall apart over two petty teenagers. If he was lucky, maybe one of them would quit and he’d be good with eight people.  If not, he’d find a way to keep them quiet.

 

He just wanted to get this project done. His grade sure as hell depended on it.

 

After setting up the chairs and moving his books around, he sat down, making sure to get his stuff ready as quickly as possible. He should have plenty of time to get ready, but you never know when someone will show up. There was always someone that decided to come in almost criminally early.

 

A fact proven almost immediately when Eddward opened the door, looking particularly peeved, picking at some black stains on his shirt. “I still don’t understand how our vehicle just stopped running right in the middle of the road. Are you sure you checked the oil before we headed out Eddy?” Eddy, following close behind, looked just as irritated but with more stains on his clothes his friend. “Yes, Double D, I friggin’ checked it before we left. You think the gas gauge could be off? I don’t remember filling it up with gas.” Ed, surprisingly the cleanest out of all three of them, but carrying in a toolbox and gas can answered Eddy first. “I filled it up yesterday, I don’t understand what happened. I made sure to get the right kind of gas and everything.”

 

Eddy plopped down into the same seat that he had before. “We’ll have to figure it out later, no use tryin’ to figure it out when we aren’t even working on it.” He tilted the chair back a bit, looking around the room before he settled on Lambert. “Car trouble?” Lambert said conversationally, hoping to appeal to this kid. It wasn’t a great question, but maybe trying to make friends with him would make things go smoother while they were here.

 

Eddy just raised an eyebrow in response, as if that was the dumbest thing he ever heard. “What gave you that idea, the grease or the toolbox?” He sarcastically responded, tugging at his shirt a bit to cool off. Working on the van was fun and all, when he could do it in the junk yard. Not while on one side of a busy highway. “We were trying to get here earlier so we could investigate possible clubs we could join, but our car broke down for unknown reasons. We aren’t sure what the issue is though.” Double D said, doing the same thing as Eddy. “Is it all right if we have this here?” Ed raised up the toolbox, which was sloppily engraved with the words ‘EEnE Toolbox,’ looking like a child made it. “Yeah, just keep it under your seat.” Lambert said, a little embarrassed by Eddy’s comeback.

 

As the other two Eds moved to their seats, Double D frantically trying to wash out a stain on his shirt, the door opened again with a slam. Cleo walked in, her nose turned up in disgust. Clawdeen followed behind her closely, irritated but noticeably calmer, along with a strangely sad Ghoulia.

 

“The nerve of that woman, I swear. Acting like I’m not allowed to be here, giving me the stink eye like that. I should buy this place out and have her fired.” Cleo muttered to herself, furious and vindictive. Clawdeen looked like she wanted to agree, but she tried to placate her friend before she found out a way to implement her plan. “Hey, I’m just as mad as you are, but that isn’t the worst we’ve had to deal with. Remember last Halloween?” Cleo turned around, a look of calm fury still on her face. “Halloween was different. That was an unfortunate extreme, but at least they all listened to reason. She refused to listen to reason.” While this was going, Ghoulia sat down in the next to Ed, who was starting to get a little concerned.

 

“Uh, as much as I hate interrupting someone in the middle of a good rant, what’s going on?” Eddy said, fairly confused at the situation, eyes switching between Cleo and Ed, who was trying to talk to Ghoulia with little success. Cleo jumped and turned to him, realizing that there were other people in the room.

 

“I honestly didn’t expect you to show up. Why are you covered in oil?” Cleo said, trying to change the subject as fast as she could. Eddy rolled his eyes. “I struck oil earlier and now I’m worth billions. I decided to come here celebrate.” Double D swatted at Eddy, shushing him. He turned towards Clawdeen, hoping she was a bit more cooperative than the mummy. “What exactly happened to get you three so upset?”

 

Clawdeen grimaced, giving a quick look in Ghoulia’s direction before she replied. “We ran into some old lady on the way here. She wasn’t exactly happy to see monsters walking around here.” She huffed, irritated look mixing with dejection. “She was practically interrogating us, trying to figure what we were doing here. Wasn’t fun, but not exactly the worst thing we’ve experienced. We were trying to just ignore her and get here, but she wouldn’t leave us alone.”

 

Cleo, somehow getting even angrier, gave her two cents. “Ghoulia tried to get her to leave us alone. The hag told her to “speak English if she was going to shamble around here.” I may have slapped her.” Everyone present, except for the monsters, winced a bit. “Jeez.” Eddy said to himself, shifting in his seat, feeling a bit sick. No wonder the zombie wasn’t talking, that was just horrible. “We ran off before she could make a big enough fuss, but I don’t regret it at all.” She crossed her arms at that.

 

_“I’m all right, really. It’s just not the best thing to hear when you come here to have a good time.”_ Ghoulia said, speaking up for the first time since they arrived. Ed patted her back lightly, causing the zombie to relax a bit. _“I work hard to make sure everybody isn’t inconvenienced by me, but having that thrown into my face is still hurtful.”_

Eddy bristled with anger at that, but wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t really know what to say to make them feel better, much less anything that would be worth something. He didn’t know any of them that well, so there wasn’t anything he knew would help. He wouldn’t even know how he’d react if he was there at all. He decided to hang back while he watched Double D get up and do his magic. At the very least he could respect Cleo for slapping the old hag.

 

“We really are sorry to hear about that. I suppose the best we can do is send a formal complaint to the main office of this building.” Double D said, trying to reassure everyone. He rubbed the back his head, trying to come up with something else to include. “I would probably avoid the woman for awhile though. She’ll probably spin a story about assault to get all of you in trouble.”

 

Cleo let out a small laugh at that, like she didn’t believe him. “That sounds like a good idea, but I doubt that’ll work. People _love_ looking at one side of the story. Just look up ‘New Salem’ and ‘Halloween’ and you’ll see why.” The mummy said negatively. Memories of that event passed through her head again. Everything was okay after the whole debacle, but she was still surprised that hadn’t become a national incident. Two people almost _died_ because of a stupid prank war. She believed that things would become better between humans and monsters like her friends did, but that didn’t mean she let go of it that easily. Jackson and Holt are friends of hers and they were almost hurt. Badly.

 

She _hates_ it when someone hurts her friends.

 

The door to the room opened again, startling its occupants once more. Thankfully, it was just the fairy tale group. They were talking about something, but stopped once they noticed they were being stared at by everyone else. Things were silent for a few seconds before Apple decided to speak up. “Are we interrupting something? Should we wait outside for a second?” She pointed towards the door, moving towards it awkwardly.

 

Ghoulia spoke up before she could leave. _“No, everything is all right. We just had an… unpleasant experience on the way here. You don’t need to leave.”_ Cleo quickly translated for her while Ghoulia tried to give a comforting smile. She didn’t know if it was working since the fairy tales were still looking around the room.

 

They seemed to believe it, for better or for worse, Raven looking suspicious and Apple still concerned. Maddie, though, just handed her a cup full of tea. Raven couldn’t help but give a quick look towards her Wonderlandian friend, who just shrugged. Ghoulia couldn’t help but overhear Maddie saying something to Raven. “You’d have to read what happened earlier on the page to understand.” She didn’t really know what that meant, but she took a sip from the tea cup.

 

Huh, it was peppermint. Her favorite.

 

“Wait, she can do the fourth wall thing too?” Eddy asked Double D, who had returned to his seat. His friend just shrugged, just as perplexed as he was. Raven couldn’t help but notice the Ed’s again. “Nice to see you guys again. Why are you covered in oil?” Eddy rolled his eyes, sighing. That was the third time someone asked. “No, me and my friends are modeling for _Grease Monkey Monthly_. It’s a real ‘bare all’ issue, a must see.” Apple blushed at that, though he couldn’t help but hear a snicker from Ed and Ghoulias direction. Least he helped cheer her up.

 

Lambert, desperate to take back control of the situation, clearing his throat. “Today was a rocky start, but we should all get seated. I’m sorry to hear about what happened, I’ll do what I can to help.” He said this quickly, trying to stifle any other conversations that would pop up. “I thought long and hard about how we are going to do this, and I think I’ve decided on an official method.” As he said this, he grabbed his clipboard, flipping through some of the papers on it. “Every two weeks, we will talk about a subject that I will pick randomly. We discuss at length about it and how we think it has affected you until now. How it has shaped you, what issues it’s caused you, and anything else about it. Afterwards, questions or comments are encouraged. That will be for the first week. The second week will be dedicated to talking in depth about those problems and other things that week or on an activity that will put you in each other’s shoes. Are there any questions?”

 

Apple raised her hand almost immediately. “What happens if we don’t feel comfortable talking about the subject? What should we do then?” Lambert nodded, expecting that question. “Then you could abstain. No one will force you to do anything you don’t want to, that’s the point here.” He looked down at his board, looking at the list of subjects he’s come up with so far. “You can either substitute it with another story or you can simply opt out. This is a supportive environment and there is no judgement here.” He stopped, finally deciding on a subject. “Alright, the topic I’ve decided for this week is simple; Childhood. What were you like as a child, what happened during your childhood, and how do you think it affected you.” The way he said it sounded too clinical, like he had practiced in the mirror one to many times, but they all understood. It sounded like a good place to start.

 

“Now, it’s time for the hardest part. Actually starting this. Is anyone here willing to start us off?” A moment of silence passed through the room once again. Everyone looked at each other briefly, but no one said anything for nearly a minute.

 

That was until Double D raised his hand.

 

“I guess I’ll be the first to go.” A-student or not, it doesn’t mean that he liked going first. Might as well get the ball rolling, though. “I admittedly don’t know where to begin, but I guess it would be good to start at when I moved to Peach Creek.”

 

The other two Eds shifted a bit before Double D officially started on what he had to say. “My parents had moved from place to place quite a bit when I was younger, leading to me being homeschooled by them for quite a while. Whenever we weren’t moving out, moving in, or they weren’t working, they taught me whatever they could in between. Despite not having that much time to teach me, it was thanks to them that I’ve excelled thus far.” He was thoughtful for a second, like he was mulling over what he wanted to say next. “They’ve always been extremely ambitious people, so if they saw the chance to move on up in the world, they took it. Every promotion they got led them to someplace else, which is why we moved so much. Eventually, we moved to Peach Creek because Mother had been promoted to a position in the company’s headquarters in a city close by. Peach Creek had more affordable housing, so we moved in as soon as possible.” Double D couldn’t help but smile a bit, remembering what happened next. “Of course, that’s when I finally met my two compatriots here, Ed and Eddy.” At the sounds of their names, the Eds waved a bit, Ed more enthusiastically then Eddy. “Eddy was trying to get some money out of the neighborhood kids, a habit that I found myself involved for years.”

 

“What was he trying to do?” Apple couldn’t help but interrupt, tilting her head a bit. What would a six-year-old think up of anyway? “I was going to get Ed to eat a television if every kid paid 25 cents.” Eddy said, laughing a bit at the memory. He stopped after he noticed that everyone was staring at him. He raised his hands up defensively, trying to defend himself while shouting, “Hey, I was six and saw all those tv shows about people eating weird stuff. Besides, he payed twice as much to see it!” He pointed to Double D, leading to the stares moving to him.

 

“…It was out of academic curiosity. Anyway!” Double D put on a sheepish smile, changing the subject immediately. “Eddy’s little scam went wrong. I admittedly was scared off for a while, as Ed almost eating Eddy was pretty traumatic.” Again, stares were sent to Eddy’s direction, who just shrunk down in his seat in embarrassment. “Eventually, I had to go out and at least interact with the other children. I… I wasn’t exactly the most popular person, which I guess is still true. Everyone thought it was weird when I used words above our limited vocabulary, along with having more odd hobbies, like horticulture and other pursuits. I think I even named some of my plants Jim and Al because of it.” He paused again, hearing a snort from Eddy’s direction, but when he looked over, Eddy put on an innocent smile.

 

“However, Ed and Eddy did extend their hands. Despite the ‘interesting’ first impression, we all did become friends. I honestly don’t regret it, even though it has led to more strange encounters.” Double D smiled fondly at the memory, like it was replaying right in front of him. “Pretty soon I got caught up with Eddy’s schemes for years, usually ending up in a far different place we started. Some were a bit more morally lenient than others, but I still stuck by. Even when my parents warned me it would be a poor idea. Though, each scam, as we called it, started becoming increasingly dangerous, to the point it was becoming self-destructive. Eventually, due to an incident I don’t think any of us are willing to talk about just yet, we did start going back to more honest methods.” He went silent for a second, the other two Eds looking almost uncomfortable. “We… We had to stop for a while. The last one we did was one we decided to never speak about again. Other than that, I believe my childhood to be fine. My parents had to work more over the years, however, and I don’t really get to see them that much anymore. It’s mostly just chores and things I do around the house I had to do, otherwise they would be disappointed in me. My friends and I started to calm down and do more normal things. At least up until a couple of months ago.” He looked at Eddy when he said the last part, but sat down to signify he was done. “Are there any questions?”

 

Several hands raised up almost immediately. “How bad were these scams exactly? I can’t imagine that a couple of kids can do that much damage.” Raven was the first to voice her question aloud. Double D thought for a second before he responded. “Have you ever ripped a support beam out of a house before?” Nobody said anything for a second before Double D continued. “Sometimes the stakes were higher, some were lower, but that was when I believed we were going to far. Again, we did get better with that, but I’m afraid we’re going down the same path.” He nodded to towards Clawdeen, who still had her hand raised. “What about your parents not being around? You didn’t really say much about that.” Eddward grimaced a little, but he knew the question was coming up. “They’re extremely busy people who have to spend much of their time working. Unfortunately, that leaved them little time to spend at home, so I’m the one that does it. It isn’t that big of a deal.”

 

“Not a big deal? Sockhead, you talk to your parents exclusively by sticky notes. I don’t even know what your parents look like, and I’ve known you for ten years.” Eddy interrupted, exasperated. Double D got into a more defensive looking position, sounding a bit annoyed. “Eddy, I thought we agreed we wouldn’t engage in hyperbole.” Eddy just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Lambert wrote down something on his clipboard, making a note of this new subject for later. “Alright, it’s time to move on. Eddward clearly isn’t comfortable talking about this right now, so someone else can step in.”

 

Raven raised her hand up quickly, something Double D was almost thankful for. Everyone shifted their attention towards the girl in black, though Clawdeen did give a hard look in Double D’s direction before she did. Raven didn’t look concerned about speaking, so she decided to just get into it before there were any other interruptions.

 

“I mentioned before that I’m the Evil Queens daughter, you know, the tyrant everyone fears even after she was imprisoned? That’s not an easy legacy to live with. When your mother is the reason why people are forced to evacuate cities, and whose very presence will make old men have heart attacks, people will definitely not trust you if you’re related to her. I didn’t really see her like that, at least for the most part. She wasn’t the best mom in the world, but I can’t say she was bad either.” She sighed a bit, looking away like she was remembering something. “I remember how she always used magic to bring stories to life in front of me each night before I went to sleep. She was always willing to play when she wasn’t busy or on one of her projects. Of course, I didn’t know what she was like outside of that for a long time, other than a few fights with my dad. That was until I finally got into elementary school.” She shifted bit, her fond smile turning into a frown. “You ever have an entire classroom be afraid to even _look_ at you?”

 

“To say everyone was afraid of me would be an understatement. My mom, at that point, had already went far over the line when it came to her story. She took over nearly half of Ever After, so everyone knew who she was. No one in class even wanted to talk to me, thinking that I’d turn them into frogs. Which is a pretty stupid stereotype by the way.” Raven saw the monsters in the room nod to themselves. “I was isolated from everyone since the beginning. Making friends was out of the question. Anyone I talked too either ran away at the sight of me or was simply too scared to say more than two words to me. People brave enough to were usually just the kids of heroes, thinking I was just like my mother. That was a trend that continued for about several years, up until I started middle school.” She held up her hand and raised a couple of her fingers. “Two things happened. One; my mother was finally caught. She finally slipped up and put into mirror prison. Two; I finally made a friend there.” She smiled a bit, looking towards Maddie, who smiled back.

 

“She was the first friend I made and the only one I really had up until high school. Admittedly, I probably would have started in my mother’s footsteps if I hadn’t met Maddie. Some people would have thought that would be a good thing.” Though the statement wasn’t directed towards her at all, Apple eyes still drifted down the floor, a guilty look flashing across her face. The only one to notice was Eddy, who raised an eyebrow but said nothing since he didn’t know why.

 

“Obviously, since I was less evil than anyone expected me to be, it became a problem when I went to Ever After High. To make your part in a story official, you must sign the Book of Legends. You were expected to sign it, no questions asked, but I decided not to. Everyone seems to forget that while I’m the first to not sign it, people have been questioning the whole ‘destiny’ thing for years. When I decided not to sign it, things escalated quickly. I accidentally divided the school into two sides, one rebelling against destiny with the other group wanting things to stay the same. I became the leader of the first group. The latter, though… Apple was the one to lead it.” Again, Apple looked a little bit guilty, but this time everyone noticed it. Lambert wrote something on his clipboard again. “That’s what’s been happening until now, there hasn’t been any clear resolution just yet. The Book of Legends was revealed to have been replaced with a fake and the original is technically gone now, but that’s another story I’ll talk about later.” Raven finally sat down, rubbing her throat as it got sore as she talked.

 

Cleo was the first to voice her question. “How was it you were the first to not sign this ‘Book of Legends’? I may not have ruled Egypt when I was alive, but usually questions usually led to some form of action if a kingdom is threatened.” Raven nodded a bit, clearing her throat. “We were all told by everyone that if we didn’t, we’d fade out of existence with our stories. That turned out not be true and just a lie our headmaster had spread. One of many, really.” Eddy couldn’t help but recoil at that. “Your headmaster literally said you would _die_ if you didn’t do what you’re told? That’s just messed up.” Double D nodded in agreement, wondering how that headmaster wasn’t fired already.

 

Ed couldn’t help but speak up. “It is pretty hard to make friends, especially if everyone already has an idea on what your like.” The room went quiet at that, everyone a little bit surprised to hear that out of the cheerful Ed. Cleo, after thinking hard for second, decided to say something too. “It’s even harder when you have someone else’s footsteps to follow.” There was a moment of trepidation, up until Cleo sighed and stood up next.

 

“Greeting everyone. I’m Cleo De Nile, just in case any of you have forgotten, though I doubt that. Unlike everyone else here, I was actually born a long time ago, back in the days of Ancient Egypt. I’d be insulting your intelligence if I said it was completely different to how things were today. Of course, it was. It was over a couple thousand years ago, with very different values and ideas. I was the second daughter of the royal family, second in line for the throne. I lived a life of luxury, servants doing everything I say without question. My mother and father ruled our kingdom with wisdom beyond compare. Everyone would sing my praises whether or not me or my sister, Nefera, did anything worthwhile. As you can expect, it was very easy for me to become spoiled rotten.”

 

Eddy was about to say something, but he was beaten by an elbow to the arm by Double D. He mumbled how he really didn’t like this new trend to himself as he rubbed his arm. Cleo pretended not to notice.

 

“Honestly, I wasn’t as bad as you would think. I didn’t abuse my power as the pharaohs daughter that often. I can’t really stand here and complain that having everything delivered to you on a silver platter is horrible. That would just be insulting! But it does tend to make you a psychopath, if my sister is any evidence to that point. She was admittedly the worse one out of the both of us, making up unreasonable demands for the staff. Anyone of them that couldn’t preform or refused she had thrown out and our parents never punished her for it. As I grew up, I couldn’t help but think that was normal and did it too. Our mother tried to scold us when she could, but daddy always got us out of trouble. We loved our mother very much, but our favorite was our father.” Cleo frowned, attempting to hide the remorse she felt. “We should have been nicer to her. Oh, how the years have passed.”

 

“There was also a sense of… _competition_ in our family. Nefera and I always seemed to be fight over nearly everything. Who was prettier, who was better at casting curses, who was more intelligent. That hasn’t really changed at all since then, though it’s become more malicious over the years. She always won no matter what, especially when it came to catching our fathers attention. I always felt like I was in the shadows because of it. No one ever came to our palace just to see me unless they thought it could increase their status. They either wanted to suck up to my father, who was beloved at the time, or to my sister, the current heir. It got harder and harder each year. At the very least, the only comfort I had was that everything in the kingdom was going smoothly.” She paused, her face adopting a grim look. “At least up until my mother disappeared when I was ten.”

 

“No one officially knew why she vanished. Marital problems, a political kidnapping, an assassination, all explanations were valid. None were proven. She had just vanished from the face of the Earth. And that drove my father _mad_.” Cleo started to become more expressive with each word coming out of her mouth. “He used every favor he had in court and made our entire army search for her, exhausting any lead he had in searching for her. Not a single clue to her whereabouts was uncovered. Anyone that tried to persuade him to give up were silenced, by execution or other cruel punishments. Eventually, his whole demeanor changed over the next three years, turning from once proud and wise to cruel and hate filled. It didn’t take long for our people to turn against us.” A sad but empty expression had taken over now, her tone beginning to match it.

 

“The revolution was swift. It was efficient. It was horrible. The last moments I spent as a human was eating our dinner table, drinking from a poisoned chalice. I died at the age of thirteen They would have gone after my father exclusively, but my sister and I weren’t much better than him. They mummified and buried us into an unmarked tomb, cursing us into never breaking out of it. The only good thing to come out of it is that they did the mummification wrong, making sure that we rose again eventually.” The empty expression was still there, borderline creepy at that point. “The price was that we were stuck in that awful place for thousands of years. It’s a very _constricting_ experience. The walls close in on you, especially when your alone with only your thoughts as company.” She went quiet for a near minute after saying that, playing with the wrappings on her arm, almost like she wanted to scratch them off. She shook her head, putting herself back together quickly.

 

“Anyway, it was several millennia before we did get out. Some explorers had found our tomb and had let us out, not expecting to find us there. They moved us to America eventually to study us, where we eventually enrolled into school. Future shock still sometimes hits, but I’ve adapted. I met and made friends with Ghoulia not long after I came here and eventually made more. That’s really all there is.” Cleo sat down, emotionally drained.  


“Wow, that was horrible to hear. I really am sorry your life had to come to end in such a way.” Apple said, not sure if she could really say anything else. Cleo chuckled ruefully. “Dying is not as bad as you’d think. It’s what comes after you should worry about.” Apple shrunk a bit at that, but figured that she had a point. Maddie, her legs swinging back and forth, nodded in agreement. “Being stuck in one place with no way out. I’ve had dreams like that. They are never pleasant.” The hatter said vaguely before standing up to take her turn.

 

The mad girl gave a wide grin before she began, making sure everyone in attendance was ready to listen. “Wonderland is a wonderful place to grow up, no matter what anyone says. Sure, the people there can be strange and the danger there is unpredictable, but that’s what makes it the most interesting! There is never a dull day in Wonderland, whether you want one or not! As such, you can’t really have ‘normal’ childhood there without developing a few quirks of your own. Since I’m the daughter of the Mad Hatter, I definitely have a few of my own. I have plenty fantastic memories of my father’s old tea shop, where I helped my father at all times of the day. I knew all the customers by first name and was my father’s best employee, at least next to my mother. My father is a great man, if a bit too humble for his own good. Everyone says that he’s eccentric, but that’s just another word for amazing in my book. My mother was the more ‘normal’ one, the most levelheaded person there. She always treated everyone with great respect, whether that person was royalty or not. I spent most of my days in that tea shop with the both of them, always spreading happiness every time I served them tea.” Maddie had an almost euphoric look on her face as she reminisced over those memories.

 

“I will admit that I didn’t have that many friends growing up either. My parents always did encourage me to play with other children, but that was easier said than done. School is only one day a year in Wonderland, so you must go out of your way to make friends your own age there. It didn’t help that no one take me _or_ my father seriously. For some reason, when people know you’re mad, they also think you’re daft for some reason. People are still surprised when I give a simple solution to any problem we come across.” Apple had another look of shame cross her face, but quickly hid it before anyone noticed.

 

“Lucky for me, my mother always saw how intelligent me, and father were. It took a while, but I finally made some friends with the other people in my story. Kitty Cheshire was the first one I made and I’m even roommates with her at our school. They were the first friends I made that knew to look past my ‘madness’ and decided to be friends with me. After all those years not having many people to talk to, it was honestly liberating.” Maddie, smile turning sad, took a slow breath. “Unfortunately, that isn’t the Happy Ending we got.”

 

“I was thirteen years old when everything went more sideways than usual. The Evil Queen, not long before she was put away, put a curse on Wonderland. Her curse made every dangerous thing in Wonderland become active at once, the world turning against us at every turn. The main part of the curse, though, was that it was closing Wonderland off. A lot of the magic that Ever After has comes from Wonderland, something the Evil Queen studied when she was younger. She was trying to make sure Ever After was easier to take over by getting to take all the magic from it. It would have also gotten rid of some allies of Snow White too. She would have succeeded if she hadn’t been caught before finishing the spell, but there was still plenty of damage.”

 

“Wonderland evacuated as many people as it could, including me and my father. He was able to also get most of my friends out of there too while we were escaping. My mother wasn’t as lucky. She had to stay behind so she could help people effected by the curse. We were able to make it to Ever After without any real trouble.” Maddie paused, looking at the ceiling for a second almost wistfully. “It was hard at first, but Wonderlandians are adaptable if anything. It wasn’t easy for most of us. Some of us had to escape without our parents, others had left their entire lives behind. Ever After made sure to give everyone a place to live, but it was still traumatizing for everyone. We had nothing when we came to Ever After, the only things we owned were what we had on us when we got there. Most portals to Wonderland were closed because of the curse, though we were able to send messages from time to time. Everyone was all right, but my family got news that my mother had disappeared during the fiasco. They still haven’t found her.”

 

“I was put into the same middle school as Raven, which was the best thing to happen since I got there. I knew she was the Evil Queens daughter, but I always believed in seeing the best in people. I knew she wasn’t anything like her mother as soon as I laid eyes on her. It made being in Ever After more bearable, especially when I heard about my mother. People still don’t take me seriously sometimes and I still have some culture shock, but everything is much better now that we can go back to Wonderland. Though Ever After is my home now.” Maddie just shrugged at the last point and sat down, pulling out some tea from her hat.

 

_“I know what that’s like. Zombies are seen as mindless and simple minded for the most part, so people are baffled when they figure out I’m a straight A student.”_ Ghoulia interjected, talking for the first time since they started. “Having to deal with a whole new world is a challenging experience too.” Cleo added, looking at the ground thoughtfully. A moment of silence passed through the room before Ghoulia stood up awkwardly, Cleo in tow.

 

_“I guess I should take my turn now. Before anyone asks, I was born a zombie rather than turned into one. How reproduction between two people that are clinically dead works is a topic I’d rather avoid for now if possible. Growing up as a zombie is an interesting experience to say the least. Zombies don’t necessarily have a bad reputation in the monster community, nor do they have a particularly bad one. We’re considered an inconvenience at best.”_ She said this while moving her hands around slowly, gesturing a bit. _“Most of my interactions as a child gave me that impression. Kids do not do well with things they don’t understand something in my experience. I was isolated from my peers due to the language barrier. Not to mention most games a child can play require being able to run. Something a zombie isn’t really great at doing, as you can all guess.”_ Ghoulia looked more resigned than sad when she said this, like she had said that to herself many times before this.

 

_“My parents would have moved to a place where zombies are less of a minority, but they had high paying jobs that most zombies would kill to get. The only zombies I knew before I moved to New Salem were my parents and my older sister. While it wasn’t all bad, this did leave me with very few people to interact with. Over the years, people refusing to interact with me did start to get to me. I understand that due to physical limitations that I’m slower than everyone else, but it still frustrates me to no end when I miss something due to it. Years of having virtually no one understand me is also quite damaging. It became easier just to say nothing at all and be wallflower.”_ Ghoulia sighed. _“If no one payed attention, no one could complain about me. If I didn’t speak, there would be no problem in being understood. If I didn’t try to play, no one would say I’m too slow. It was the main reason I got into comic books and school work, honestly.”_

_“The first comics I ever read were the ones my sister gave to me. She introduced me to most of the comic books I read today. They were good for escapism, especially when it was a bad day. When I started to get an allowance, I was able to get myself more whenever I wanted. My parents weren’t thrilled with my hobby, but they never really complained. They just let me do what I want if I was happy. School work became easier when no started to bother me. I was genuinely interested in most of the subjects, so it wasn’t a loss. While my parents were proud that I was doing so well in school, they did become concerned that I never really had any friends. We did eventually move to New Salem, about a year before Cleo was transferred there. I finally met some zombies my own age, which was nice. I was still a wallflower for a while, until Cleo came to town.”_ Ghoulia gestured to Cleo, who smiled just a tiny bit before they continued again. _“She was the first I met that learned how to speak zombie for me. That was more effort than most people have I’ve met put into talking with me. It didn’t take long for me to become her friend because of that. It also led me into making many other friends who learned how to speak zombie too. I still do have some lingering doubts about people, though, and I still get frustrated whenever I’m not understood. But generally, things are better then ever these past few years.”_

 

“I have the same problem when it comes to Riddlish. I sometimes slip into it whenever I’m not paying attention.” Maddie said after Ghoulia finished. “It’s not we don’t understand, it’s just takes us longer to decipher what that riddle means.” Apple said, trying to defend herself. “What the heck is Riddlish?” Eddy asked, though no one had time to answer it. Ed just patted Ghoulia on the back before he stood up, deciding to finally take his turn.

 

“Peach Creek is a fun place to grow up! I mean, why wouldn’t it be? I’ve grown up there all my life and I can’t say that I’d prefer anywhere else. My parents even met at the high school I go to now.” He said all of this cheerfully, which was new considering how the rest of this session was going. “It doesn’t have all those arcades, big chain places, or landmarks, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to do. I know the creek the town was named after like the back of my hand, not to mention the junkyard. Some people think it’s weird that I hang out there, but I don’t mind. I just like having fun!” He chuckled a bit, scratching the back of his head.

 

“I can’t really say much about the other kids. Everyone just thinks I’m weird or stupid whenever I talk about what I like. But whatever, they have their things, I have mine. The only ones that I really mind are my parents. Mom and Dad are always mad at me for some reason, especially if bother my sister about something. They’ve always been pretty strict with me for most of my life, but I still don’t mind. They always seem to ground me for something, even if I didn’t do it. I break something, I’m grounded. I bother Sarah a little bit, I get grounded for an entire day. I do something they don’t like, I get grounded for an entire week! They don’t really ground Sarah for doing some of those things though. I don’t mind though.” He said the last part in bewilderment, genuinely not understanding why.

 

“Always getting grounded made sure that I had a lot of free time when I was a kid. I’d always have to read comics or watch old horror movies, especially when my parents are arguing. They always keep me busy when I don’t want to think.” Ed continued, to the concern of everyone else. “But you do all the time Ed.” Eddy couldn’t help but interrupt, causing Ed to lose his train of thought. Ed just shrugged, still smiling like he hadn’t heard what Eddy said. “If I wasn’t hanging out with my friends, I was doing that. Sometimes mom and dad made me do a few chores, but they always say I’m doing it wrong. They don’t make me clean my room though. I don’t think they care.” He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. Anyone paying close attention would have heard Eddy mumble something like “they don’t seem to care at all.”

 

“Whenever I hung out with Double D and Eddy was the best time of my life! I mean, you should have seen some of the things we built when we were kids. We built a rollercoaster, a cardboard city, and even a jungle park! Hey, remember that time we made that huge costume after I watched some Godzilla movies?” He asked the last part to his two friends, who had terrified looks on their faces. “I still have nightmares.” Eddy vaguely responded, staring at the ceiling with a horrified look on his face. “Ed, focus please.” Double D instructed Ed, trying to get him on the right track again. Ed just nodded, though his smile was wider than it was before.

 

“We made our own fun. It was at least more fun than hanging out at home. Dad always watched tv when he gets home from work and Mom was always too busy to want to deal with me. Sarah just threw things at me when I wanted to play with her. Again, I don’t mind.” He chuckled, though it almost sounded forced. “I enjoy life. Isn’t that all that matters?” He looked at everyone when he said this, though no one would meet his eye.

 

“For some one that claims that he doesn’t mind a lot, you seem to mind quite a bit. Anything to say on that?” Lambert jumped in, clipboard poised and ready. Ed just tilted his head, looking a bit confused. A moment of mutual staring happened between the two before Lambert sighed, writing something with a disappointed look on his face. Apple, just shuffled in her seat a bit, her hand raised. He just nodded to her, even if she didn’t need his permission. Lambert looked down at his notes, which had gone on for several pages now. What had he gotten himself into?

 

Apple began quietly and formally, as expected from someone with royal descent. “It’s nice to see you again everyone, even if for some of us, it isn’t for the best of reasons. I guess the easiest place to begin would be the day I was born. I was born on May 13th, my parents expectations of me were already high.” She moved her hands around softly and theatrically, like she was reciting a monologue in a play.

 

“I grew up in my mother’s castle, where my family has lived for generations. Each day I lived there, I was molded into becoming the next Snow White, a title that I have hexpected to take since I was small. Everyone told me growing up that was following my story was the greatest honor that anyone could have. That I had to everything to the letter, with absolute perfection and conviction. It was easy to believe that because for so long, no one had told me otherwise. I was taught nearly everything by a multitude of tutors in my young life, expected to excel at every subject without fail. Everything from basic subjects like math and history, to everything involving etiquette with high society. A princess must know how to behave, otherwise it would reflect badly on them later.” The last part sounded almost sounded like a practiced lecture, a mantra she had repeated to herself multiple times.

 

“Everything a princess was supposed to be, I was taught to be. I practiced being generous with others, spending most of my free time helping them in whatever way I could. I was told to be polite, whether or not a person was doing the same. “A princess must always be level headed and never let her emotions get the best of her,” was a favorite of my mother. Since she is the queen of Ever After, why would I question it? I was only a child when she said this.” Apple said this dismissively, looking to her left into empty space.

 

“I did all this without question. It was drilled into my head since day one of my existence on this Earth. It didn’t help that everyone told me that my story and everyone in it would disappear if I didn’t play my role. The only other time someone tried to go against their own story, they were heard from again, their story lost to the winds. I had nightmares about it after the first time I was told. About fading away into absolute darkness, all your friends and your family forgetting about you. Sticking to my story became absolutely necessary to me, a realization I had at the age of eight years old. I made sure to practice everything my mother taught me no matter how I felt about it. Admittedly, it did help me become very popular, something I came to treasure later on. And it’s not like I don’t enjoy helping people either, I’ve joined in on many different charity events in my time.” Apple said this in a way that almost sounded humble, despite how it truly sounded.

 

“It became easier overtime to just play the role of a docile princess, one that everyone would love with all their heart. The praise was all the reward I needed, whether it came from my mother or from others. I was taught the traditional way of doing things and learned that the traditional ways were best because of it. It almost felt like the world was crashing down when Raven decided she didn’t want to play her role in the story. We may be friends now, but my behavior wasn’t obviously the best when early on. Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t do anything to change Ravens mind, there wouldn’t be the whole Royal versus Rebel crisis within the school.” She sighed, downcast. “I did eventually learn that restricting someone from following their hearts is the worst thing to do to a person. But that didn’t happen till I received a few rude awakenings.” She sat down in her seat, still a bit sad, but obviously glad to get it off her chest.

 

“Are you doing anything for yourself?” came Clawdeen, giving an inquisitive look towards Apple White. When the pale girl only looked at her in confusion, she decided to elaborate. “You said that you’ve been doing everything for your story to happen, trying to help other people with their problems. But you haven’t really said anything about doing something for yourself. It’s not a bad thing to care about others, but you have to make sure your happy too.” Clawdeen explained carefully, trying not to upset Apple further. The princess in question still looked confused, muttering something. “Isn’t working towards my story doing something to myself?” Apple finally said in response, looking lost. Clawdeen shook her head.

 

“It doesn’t really count if it doesn’t make you happy.” Clawdeen said finally. Then Cleo scoffed. “For someone that preaches about being good to yourself, you seem to love running yourself ragged.” Clawdeen growled a bit at her friend, before she decided to take her turn.

 

“Guess I’m up next. Good to see everyone is taking this seriously. It seems like I’m the odd one out here when it comes to family size though. I grew up in a big family. I’m not talking about just two or three siblings, I’m talking about _seven_.” Almost everyone in the room physically recoiled at that, causing the werewolf to laugh loudly. “Yeah, it’s a lot of mouths to feed, that’s for sure. There used to be six, but my mom had another baby last week. Two sisters and about five brothers, so the girls are outmatched. Since I’m the third kid, I’m also expected to help take care of them all.” Again, Clawdeen laughed a bit to herself, taking in all the reactions with amusement.

 

“Yeah, being one in a family of ten is a hassle, but I still wouldn’t trade it for the world. It is frustrating sometimes, that’s at least pretty obvious. It’s hard to get the attention of your parents when seven other voices are doing their best to get the same. When I was just a pup, it was a lot easier to get my parents to pay attention. There was just me, Clawd, and Clawdia at the time, so my parent’s attention wasn’t spread so thin.” Her ears twitched, catching Eddy muttering something about names and puns again. He was silenced again by the smart guy again afterward. Seriously, what was the guys problem with puns?

 

“My parents, however, somehow thought we were still five children short. They kept on making kids and we had to move a few times to make sure we had enough room for them all. As I got older, I kept on getting more responsibilities than most kids would to help take care of my brothers and sisters. Most people wouldn’t be happy about that, but werewolves take care of their own. Even it means having to change a few diapers.” That earned a few queasy looks from her audience.

 

“I don’t feel the need to complain about it, though. A good amount of my time as kid may have spent taking care of other kids, but that doesn’t really bother me. Made me the most dependable person in my school. Had a scraped knee or elbow? Cleaned those thousands of times. Needed help with homework? Tutoring is second nature to me. I like being the person people depend on. Makes me feel needed.” Clawdeen said with pride, hands on her hips.

 

“I mean, if I had to point out one problem growing up with a big family, it’s that you don’t really get noticed. Attention is usually given to either the most successful kid or the kid that starts the most trouble. Standing out in a crowd is one thing, standing out in a ten-person family is harder. I guess that’s why I went into fashion and fearleading. You could make yourself be the center of attention if you looked good enough. And being in so many different clubs or activities means your more likely to stand out with all the skills you have. Also helps if you lead some of the clubs too, since people kind of rely on you to be there for things to work.” Clawdeen rubbed her eyes, hoping her makeup was hiding the bags under them well.

 

“People say doing this much is going to run me to the ground, but I really do like all these things. If I just stop, then what else am I going to do? People rely on me at all times, if I just stop, what’ll happen to them? I honestly don’t know what I’d do with myself if I had too much free time on my hands, so there really is nothing I could do about it.” She sighed, irritated. However, she did sit down, having said her piece.

 

“It sounds to me like you’ve put yourself into a corner with all of this. There’s nothing wrong with loving what you do, but it sounds like you feel you don’t have a choice in stopping.” Apple said with apparent concern, though she did realize she was similar in that manner. Clawdeen just shrugged, but didn’t say anything in response. When no one said anything else for about a minute, they turned to Eddy, who was the last to speak. All the guy did was just sigh and stand up.

 

“Looks like I’m going up next. Not really sure what you’re all expecting to hear. I mean, you’ve already heard it twice already. I’m another kid from the small town of Peach Creek, yada yada yada. Not to make it sound like I hate my hometown. I cheer at every home game we have at my school just as much as everyone else. Can’t really say anything bad about it other than it’s small. When you know everyone in town, you kinda forget that everyone in town also knows _you_. Especially if it’s something you don’t want them to talk about.” Grimacing, Eddy almost hesitated on telling the rest of the story.

 

“I wouldn’t say that growing up was exactly hard, but there sure as hell wasn’t anything easy about it. We weren’t homeless, but my folks didn’t have the most money growing up. My dad is a used car salesman and my mom was one of those door-to-door makeup salesmen. Not the most lucrative careers to have when you live in a small town. The only reason we don’t live in the trailer park is because of a loan from my granddad. We’re a lot more stable now thanks to my mom getting a better job, but it wasn’t the easiest way to grow up. My older brother used to pick up the slack with whatever he was pulling that week, but from what I remember, it wasn’t really legal.” He rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment.

 

“Trust me, I appreciate everything my parents have done for me. Not easy raising two kids on a chaotic budget. Even harder when both of them are complete bastards. Though having most of your things being handed down to you from clothes to records and not being sure if the next payment on the house will be the last, your kind of can’t help but learn that money is one of the most important things in the world. Especially if you want people to like you.” He sneered a bit at that, like he tasted something awful.

 

“When my parents were worse off than they are now, I happened to meet this one kid. His real name is Kevin, but I call him Shovel Chin just to make him angry. While my family had been scraping by, his family was thriving. His dad is the main guy at a candy factory and that made him immediately better than me. At least, I thought that. Unfortunately, other than the fact he was already popular, we were pretty much the same. Similar enough that Sockhead thought we were perfect “character foils” or something.” He waved his hand sarcastically at that, like he was trying to ward off that observation.

 

 “We were enemies from day one. I don’t remember which one of us started it, but it lasted for years. He had everyone’s attention and everything I ever wanted from the get go, while I tried my best in the stupidest way possible. He did his best to stop me and my friends from pulling our scams whenever possible, which didn’t help things at all. Humiliating each other was pretty much our favorite thing. Comparing the both of us was really my downfall, honestly. If it hadn’t worked for my brother, I probably wouldn’t have done any of that and maybe we would have been friends too. But we were both too stubborn to stop, so it didn’t help anything.”

 

Eddy sighed, a flash of regret crossing his face. “I mean, we did eventually come to an understanding thanks to this… thing a while back, but I don’t think it’ll last. Same with the other cul-de-sac kids. I’m glad that it’s lasted this long, and I’ve gotten a few years out of it, though.”

He sat down, wistful and resigned.

 

Apple didn’t seem happy with that explanation though. “Why do you fell like it’s going to end? If they want to bury the hatchet, that usually means that they want to be friends.” Eddy snorted a bit before looking over at the princess. “Because I don’t have good luck. In my experience, people are only nice when they want something or the pity you. And pity will run out eventually.” He smiled ruefully. “Anything good that happens to me eventually has to fallout. It’s been years since the last time, so I just _know_ it’s going to be bad when the fallout comes.”

 

Before anyone could ask anymore questions, a loud ringing came from Lamberts phone. Everyone nearly jumped out of their skins as Lambert scrambled to turn it off, cursing under his breath. Grabbing the phone and turning it off quickly, he let out a shaky sigh. “Sorry about that everyone, it looks like we are out of time today.” He stood up, giving a shaky smile all the while. “It looks like we’ll all have plenty to talk about next week. I’m glad everyone here decided to give this a second chance and I hope to see you all soon.”

 

Everyone, trying to sooth their hearts from beating so fast (except for Cleo and Ghoulia of course), got up quickly and helped put the room back into order. No one really looked at each other for too long, making sure not to stare. Letting out your dirty laundry in front of people was always an awkward affair, having to realize a few things about each other.

 

As everyone rushed to file out of the room, Lambert looked at the plethora of notes he had gathered on each person. He rubbed his head, overwhelmed at how much he had written over the short time they had together.

 

Looked like he was going to have a lot to write for his paper when this was all finished.

 

* * *

 

 

“I’m really proud of you Eddy, you actually seemed to take this seriously! I knew something good would come out of this” Double D said proudly to his best friend as they walked towards the exit. Eddy used all his will power not to roll his eyes at that statement. “Yeah, yeah, I’m opening up a like a blooming flower.” Eddy muttered to himself sarcastically, wondering how in the heck he’d get out of this. He had no idea why he said so much back there. Was it because everyone had said a lot and he felt he had to keep up? Was he actually enjoying this?

 

No. This was only the second time he’d done this thing, why would he be enjoying it? He didn’t want to just keep saying too much like that though. Every time he opened up about something or someone figured out something he was trying to hide, it would always make life a living hell for him. The school picture incident, his middle name, anything else incriminating. It would all get out eventually and screw him over eventually. Why the heck did he have to make that bet with Cleo again?

 

“Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills.” Ed unexpectedly came close to Eddy, scaring him out of his thoughts. “Is everything all right Eddy? You don’t seem happy about what happened.” Eddy pushed his friends face away from his, annoyed all to hell. “I’m fine. Just wondering how to mess with Queen.” Double D looked confused for a second before he came to a quick realization.

 

“Eddy, would you please try to get along with Ms. De Nile whenever we’re there. I’m glad you two decided to behave for today, but you two should try to get along. You might even find you two have plenty in common. I’d rather not deal with another Kevin situation.” Eddy just laughed at Double D’s scolding, shaking his head back and forth.

 

Like he’d have anything in common with that rich girl. He highly doubted she even knew what ‘common’ _meant_. At least she was openly manipulative and condescending.

 

He couldn’t help but really mistrust that Apple girl, though. No one was that nice without some ulterior motive.

 

“This is absolutely ridiculous!” was the first thing the Eds heard as they walked out of the building, startling them out of their conversation. It didn’t take long for them to find the source, though, since it was coming from Cleo.

 

Who was chewing out an old lady and a police officer. “Oh boy, this is going to be fun.” Eddy couldn’t help but mutter to himself sarcastically again.

 

“She was harassing us and insulted us right to our faces, why are we being questioned?!” Cleo shouted, not making the situation any better. The officer was trying to keep things calm, though he didn’t seem to have a good grasp on the situation. The old lady didn’t seem as friendly, though having a scowl on her face.

 

“Just arrest these monsters, officer. They shouldn’t even be here!” The old lady was almost as loud as Cleo, who was holding on to her bag in anger. “This is why they should stay in their part of town. They will always cause trouble.”  Clawdeen growled at the hag, getting angrier each second. “Mam, please stop antagonizing everyone. We should try to talk this out.” Was the futile response of the officer, who was trying to defuse the situation as best he could. “Why should I, that girl assaulted me! That little beast looks about ready to maul me any second! They’re all just too much trouble. Especially that little shambler over there.” She pointed towards Ghoulia as she said this, who looked almost as angry as Cleo.

 

Everyone was a little surprised when Ed moved in between old lady and the monsters out of nowhere. His smile didn’t look as friendly as before though as he looked down on the woman, who stepped back bit. The other two Eds saw this, wondering how Ed had gotten away from them so fast. They quickly ran over to him, Double D worrying his head off while Eddy cursed like a sailor.

 

“Ed, seriously, warn us before next time.” Eddy complained to his friend, punching him in the arm. He didn’t get a response, as Ed was keeping his eye on the lady and the officer. “Hi Officer Wendell, hope your doing well.” Double D nervously said to the officer.

 

“This doesn’t involve you three, just stay out of it!” The old lady tried to command them. It didn’t seem to work though, as the Eds didn’t seem to give her the time of day. They decided to give their attention to the officer. “There something wrong Wendell?” Eddy asked the poor officer in the middle of all this.

 

The officer just sighed. “First noise complaints from your neighborhood and now this?” Officer Wendell muttered to himself, bewildered by the situation. “This lady claims that the girl behind you assaulted her for no apparent reason. Can you please move out of the way now?” The officer commanded, obviously exasperated. Eddy bristled a bit at that while Double D just groaned when he saw the look on Eddy’s face. Eddy never did what he was told, why did no remember that?

 

“Is that so? That isn’t what I heard.” Eddy asked, turning an accusing gaze at the woman, who just glared at him. “From what they told me, you were going out of your way just to mess with three people. I mean, sure, Queen here looks like she’d bite anyone’s head off if they go to close, but it sounds you deserved it.” He pointed to Cleo at the last part, who just glared at him.

 

“He’s still insulting her while all of this is going on?” Clawdeen couldn’t help but question. “I’m really sorry, he is ridiculously petty.” Said Double D in response, who was pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed in annoyance.

 

“See, he didn’t deny it! He said it!” The woman said to the poor officer again, who was still trying to calm her down. “Hey, I’d slap you too if you were insulting my friends. At least, I would if I wasn’t afraid of catching liver spots!” Eddy escalated, getting more vehement with each word.

 

This resulted in the argument somehow worsening with now three people yelling, all the while the officer and Double D were trying to calm things down.

 

It was certainly the interesting sight for the fairy tales to be greeted with when they walked out of the building.

 

Apple couldn’t help but gasp. “Oh dear, this definitely doesn’t look good.” Raven couldn’t help but nod in agreement, her wide eyes looking at each person involved in the argument carefully. “Yeah, why the heck is the local guard here? I mean, the short guy isn’t friendly, but he certainly isn’t the criminal type.” Maddie just sipped her cup of tea she always somehow had on her, watching the situation like it was just a play with a critical eye.

 

“Um, I think we should probably try to stop this. I don’t like the looks of this. Cleo and Eddy look like they’re about to fight that old lady and I’d rather not let them be arrested.” Apple grabbed Ravens hand, shaking it a little bit in panic. “Yeah, those two look like they’re on the same side. What did that lady do to make them both angry?” Raven was thinking of spells that she could use to diffuse the fight, anything that could distract them long enough to stop. Apple wondered that too. “Everyone did seem a little off when we began, especially Ghoulia. Maybe it has to do with that?”

 

Before they could continue their conversation, Maddie interrupted them. “Psst, Raven. Hey, Raven.” The hatter whispered to them, making the two princesses turn to her. “Look, see the rip in that woman’s bag.” Maddie pointed in the lady’s direction almost conspiratorially. “Um, yeah?” Raven gave her friend a confused look. “Why is that important?” Apple asked, trying desperately to see what rip Maddie was pointing at. “Just use a little magic to make it bigger.” When she received even more bewildered looks from her friends, she simply said, “Just trust me on this.”

 

Raven decided to just shrug and accept the plan. As strange as that sounded, Maddie never steered them wrong before. With a flick of her wrist and a brief light of purple flame appearing on her hand, the bag ripped nearly in two.

 

“Least I know how to act like- ow, what the heck?!” Eddy was in the middle of insulting her when he heard a rip, and something fell on his foot. Grabbing his foot while hopping on the other one, he just began cursing even more. While he was doing this, Ed couldn’t help but pick up one of the things that fell on the floor.

 

“Is… is that jewelry?” Double D questioned, looking carefully down at the pile of shiny metal. “Whatever it is, it nearly broke my foot!” Eddy shouted, still cradling his foot with tears in his eyes. A woman owning jewelry wasn’t unusual, the amount she was apparently carrying was very concerning for everyone involved. “Mam, where exactly did you get all of this jewelry?” The officer questioned the lady with suspicion in his voice. Everyone turned to her slowly, everyone noticing that she had turned as white as a sheet.

 

“Well, um… Well, there is a perfectly logical explanation to this. I mean, um…” She started to back away slowly, but when the officer started to move towards her, she turned around and bolted. The officer stood there for a second in silence before he cursed and ran after her, not even giving the kids a second look.

 

The humans and monsters were silent for a second, staring after the officer while the fairy tales moved to join them. Nobody said anything, until Eddy looked down at the jewelry and then looked up at Double D. When he started to open his mouth, the smart Ed boy interrupted him quickly.

 

“No, we are not keeping any of this Eddy.” Double D deadpanned to Eddy. “It was just a suggestion!” defensively said the shorter Ed boy, though it wasn’t that convincing. With that, the tension faded away from the group, everyone visibly relaxing. Clawdeen and the other monster looked visibly relieved that they were off the hook for now. That had been a close call.

 

“I have no idea what was going on, but I’m glad it’s over.” Raven said jovially, which brought a few sounds of agreement from everyone. The girl in black turned to her pink friend, still confused. “How did you know that she had some stolen jewelry in her bag?”

 

“I didn’t, I just did it for plot convenience.” Maddie said, still sipping her tea. “Oh, so she does have fourth wall abilities.” Double D wondered aloud, the other Eds just as surprised. Deciding to ignore that statement, Clawdeen decided to try and get everyone’s attention. “Alright, if it’s okay with everyone here, me and my friends are gonna go home. We’ve had a rough day.” She suppressed a yawn as she said this, but everyone noticed anyway.

 

“Yeah, we should start heading back through the Gate soon.” Apple said in agreement, already pulling out her phone to call the taxi. She and Raven started heading towards the parking lot quickly, Maddie staying behind.

 

“Yes, rather not have to fight anyone else while we’re here.” The mummy was already texting the driver, sending a brief glance towards Eddy as she stated this. Eddy gave a quick glare back, but headed towards the van. He grabbed Ed on the way, who was waving goodbye to Ghoulia while she followed her Egyptian friend.

 

All that was left was the Clawdeen, Double D, and Maddie. They all just stood there awkwardly, waiting for someone to saw something. Clawdeen smiled a toothy grin at the two, patting Double D on the shoulder before she said anything. “Thanks for the help back there. Glad to know some people are willing to stand up for us when we need it.” Double D gave an embarrassed smile while Maddie simply beamed a bit. “No problem.” They both said, causing the werewolf to chuckle a bit.

 

Double D sighed, Maddie doing the same. They both gave a look to each other before Double D awkwardly smiled at her.

 

“Character development is never easy, right?”

 

“You have no idea.”


End file.
